


Joy Ride

by FaeMoss (windseeker2305)



Category: Original Work
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Eventual mpreg, F/M, Humor, Interspecies Relationship(s), M/M, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Romance, Science Fiction, Slash, multiple galaxies, space
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-22
Updated: 2015-05-20
Packaged: 2018-01-26 03:21:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 91,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1672814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/windseeker2305/pseuds/FaeMoss
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Blake thought he was going nowhere, stuck in A-Hole central, until he met a jock who blew through the stereotypes and ended up taking him on a joy ride. He was about to learn many things about the universe, and about himself as well. SLASH</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Joy Ride**

**Part One**

**Chapter One**

For someone like Blake Brennan high school was a huge inconvenient pain. And the worst thing? He was fairly sure post high school wouldn’t be any better. But he couldn’t in all fairness paint his life as all that bad and he didn’t because he knew what he had in his life and knew others had it worse. He had good grades, an unorthodox guardian who cared a great deal about him, a bad ass job that he loved, and a thirst for more, more, more. If only he could condense his life down to that, then everything would be perfect. But he couldn’t. He was still stuck in high school; stuck having to attend it for most of the day and being surrounded by so many pains in his ass for a number of hours every day for nearly an entire year more.

     “At least,” Blake grumbled as he ran a hand through his dark auburn hair, walking down the hall towards the doors that would lead him outside, “it’s senior year.”

     “Talking to yourself again, fag?”

   That would be one of the pains in his ass now. And not the good kind. Christian Foster. Apt name. Went great with his hypocritical beliefs and prejudices. Blake forced the smile to stay on his face. He knew better than to talk to himself aloud at school. But it was one of his habits and even after three years of trying to cut it out at school, he was never able to and it was yet another thing about him people targeted.

     He didn’t know if he could last an entire year more without finally snapping, and despite his better judgment, Blake opened his mouth for a retort but he was thankfully interrupted by Christian’s new jock friend. “Not now. We need to get this project done or you don’t get to play.”

     Blake stared after that one, watching him throw an arm around Christian’s shoulders and turning him till he was facing the lockers. He was apparently forgotten. As he walked away, Blake looked over his shoulder at the new guy and found his stare being returned full force. The guy was new at the school and yet he was massively popular already. His name was Justin… something. Blake watched him, wariness creeping into him. Justin. The name didn’t seem to fit him. He was the big type. Though he wasn’t too big. Not overly muscular. Just tall, dark, and handsome. Sometimes those were the worst gay bashers. The power was hidden. The way this new boy moved told Blake that he would be knocked out from just one fist throw from that guy. And yet…

     He’d had an odd encounter with the new guy two weeks ago. In the school, after classes had gone. It hadn’t been a great run in since Blake had been in a ‘situation’ at the time with the art teacher. They were found in a nice dark maintenance closet in the _locked_ art room. Blake had no idea how the jock had ended up there, but he had and he’d walked in on the scene as if the classroom door had never been locked. Blake hadn’t even heard the closet door being opened.

     The jock had stood there for about half a minute. Staring at Blake and then at the frozen petrified teacher. He had then looked back up, smirked at Blake, and then he just left without a word. Blake had expected to get his ass kicked the next day at school by Justin’s friends. But nothing happened. The slurs hadn’t picked up. Everything was the same. As if Justin hadn’t told his friends. Blake found it all odd. But he figured David- the really hot untalented art teacher- had gone and talked to the jock. Because not only was Blake’s ass on the line- not like David cared about that- but David’s job was on the line as well for being with a student.

    Blake didn’t know why he kept getting messed with. It was a big school. He wasn’t the only known homosexual there and it wasn’t like he was flamboyant or anything. Yeah he dressed classy, but that was only because he liked to look good. It galled him to even think about going to school in wrinkled jeans and t-shirts. So yeah, when it came to clothes he was kind of gay but that was really all that made him stand out. Nothing else was special about him. Nothing else- aside from his lack of interest in girls- indicated he was a raging homosexual.

     Blake laughed at himself as he left the school, heading for sidewalk. He had work to do. He didn’t want to spend any more time trying to figure out what made the other students tick. They weren’t worth his time.

 

* * *

 

   Two years he’d been here. Two years and it was time to go. He had things to do. This forced vacation had lasted long enough. He really couldn’t stand this place anymore. It was all well and good to explore, but when he actually had to live there because his shit was busted, the place became unbearable. These people were so… infantile. The systems which they dubbed ‘governments’ were going to crumble and the people with it. Those with respect didn’t deserve it, while those who deserved it were scorned. It made no sense. This place made no sense. He had to get out of there and get home. Only… he needed help. He’d spent the last year and a half searching for help. He hoped he found it today. It was doubtful, but he always had hope. He just… he really didn’t want to have to call his brother for a ride. He’d never hear the end of it.

       Pointed towards the garage, Fen nodded his thanks to the man behind the counter and made his way to the car garage where he was told he’d find the guy who was responsible for his truck. The guy at the counter never said if they’d fixed his truck or not and this had him preparing for disappointment again.

     Fen looked around and noticed the place looked empty. He heard music playing from the radio across the room and he also heard something… maybe whistling. “Hello?” he called out above the music.

       The whistling stopped. “Yeah?”

     He turned halfway towards the back of the shop where five cars were lined side by side; three of them lined up behind another car. “I was told to come back to talk to you about the truck.”

       “You the Chevy guy?”

     He walked towards where he thought the voice was coming from. “The black one. Yeah.”

     The guy didn’t say anything back right away, and Fen continued his progress until he found a man halfway hidden underneath one of the cars.

     “Give me a minute.”

     Fen leaned against the opposite car, crossing his arms over his chest and watching the man on the roller-on shifting as he did whatever it was he was doing. “Sure. Take your time.”

       “It’s nice not hearing sarcasm for once.”

       A grin sprung across Fen’s face. He wondered what the mechanic looked like. He didn’t have to wait long. Soon the guy was sliding out from underneath the car and Fen immediately recognized the face and eyes brought into view. Those hazel eyes widened on him. Widened with shock first and then there was wariness.

     “You.” That was about all Fen could think to say at the moment. He seriously hadn’t expected this one to be a mechanic. He was hardly one to be surprised but he was surprised right now. And pleased, though he didn’t think too much on that. Not when the guy was looking like he was preparing to get beaten up.

     Blake climbed to his feet. He took the bandana off his hair and used it to wipe the grease off his hands. “Yeah. Me.”

     “You’re a mechanic?” Fen just had to make sure.

     A sardonic grin appeared on Blake’s face. “An awesome one. I can fix anything.”

     “Did you fix my truck?”

     “Yeah, about that,” Blake started somewhat warily, peering at Fen who seemed to be holding his breath. “There’s some shit under your hood I’ve never seen before… where’d you get your truck? Outer space?”

     Fen forced out a laugh. “So you couldn’t fix it.”

     “Just said I could fix anything, didn’t I? Yeah, I fixed it. Was hard, but I’ve got magic fingers.” Blake raised his hands and wiggled his digits. He smiled at Fen without thinking about it. Without remembering exactly who he was talking to. “Fixing your truck provided me lots of fun. Break it again, would ya? I’ll fix it again for free.”

       This time Fen didn’t have to force a laugh. The mechanic had a brilliant smile. “That’s great. Thanks.”

     “No thanks needed. It’s my job.”

       Fen looked around, shoving his hands deep into his pockets. He noticed from the corner of his eyes that the mechanic- Blake- was slowly backing away from him. Creating space. The smile was gone. He could guess why. “I’d heard a lot about you from around town. This shop. They say a genius mechanic works here.”

       Blake shrugged.

       Fen turned back and met his gaze dead on. “I came here looking for that genius.”

       “Any specific reason why?”

       “You can relax. I’m not about to jump you.”

       “Who says I wouldn’t enjoy that?”

       It was clear the mechanic hadn’t meant to say that aloud. Especially since those eyes widened and fear entered them. He took a large step back. Fen decided he would ignore that comment, for now. “I’m not about to beat you up.”

       Blake took another step back and then turned around, walking towards the office, towards the safety of people he knew. “Truck’s all ready for you.” He stopped suddenly and turned back. “I’d… really appreciate it if you wouldn’t tell anyone from school where I work.”

       Fen smirked that smirk again and walked passed him. He didn’t answer till he was opening the door that would lead him back into the customers’ part of the office. “If I told I wouldn’t have you all to myself anymore, would I?”

       Blake stared after him. That could have been a flirt. And even though he wanted to take it like that, he knew better. It was safe to assume that had some underlying threat to it.

* * *

 

Blake tapped his pen repeatedly against the opened book as he stared across the library with unseeing eyes. He was pondering the enigma known as Justin; the jock who seemed to break out of the stereotype. Blake was kinda happy to meet him. Only because he hated running into actual stereotypes. It made the world seem bland. So when he was surprised by a person’s character, he was always pleasantly surprised.

       Blake jerked out of his thoughts when the seat across from him was suddenly occupied by the person he’d been thinking about. Blake sucked in a breath, his eyes widened, and he quickly looked around, expecting to see the jock’s friends all around him, intending to beat the shit out of him. He found no one except those that had already been in the library. But even those students were staring over at them with shocked expressions.

       Not everyone in the school was a douche but most everyone thought he was an unfriendly person. They listened to rumors, and others were afraid to go against those who hated him… they were all sheep. So it was a surprise to see anyone talking to him, let alone voluntarily sitting near him. And especially the new heartthrob of the school. Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome... something. Blake couldn’t recall this guy’s last name. It wasn’t really important.

     He really didn’t care no one talked to him here. He was fine with that actually. He couldn’t really didn’t see himself becoming friends with any of them. He only tolerated coming to school because he had to. But nothing made him have to talk to people, so it was almost a blessing no one liked him. Despite all that, he found himself strangely excited. Something about this guy made him curious; made him want to talk. Maybe just to confirm that Justin was the same as the rest. A sheep; a douche. A mean ignorant mother fucker.

       Then the guy smiled and it was dreamy. As was the follow low rich voice. “Hello again,” he greeted.

       Blake released a breath and smiled unsure. “Um, hey. Justin, right?”

       It took a moment for the jock to answer. He frowned as if confused, and then he nodded. “Yeah, Justin. That’s my name.”

       Blake rose a brow. Had he forgotten what his name was? “Right.”

       “What are you up to?”

       “What do kids usually do in the library?”

       The guy nodded and leaned back in his chair until the front two legs lifted from the ground. Blake found himself smiling freely now, hoping that chair would tumble backwards. Yeah, he had a little mean streak. “Did you want something?” he asked instead of rudely kicking out.

       “Not really.”

       Blake’s shoulders rose and fell. “Huh.” The jock’s smile morphed into a small smirk. “Not to be rude, but you do know your reputation will be burnt up to hell if you keep sitting here talking to me.”

       “My reputation…” Justin snorted. “What do I care about reputation?” Blake raised both brows in surprise. “By the way, my truck? It purrs. You really must have magic fingers,” he said, looking down at said fingers, which were long and thin. Blake looked down also, tapping a finger against the desk. His fingers were also scratched up with little scabs in some places. Gained from working on cars half the day and well into the night.

       “I do.”

       Justin shook his head. “Still can’t believe you’re a mechanic.”

     Blake tensed. “Why?”

     Justin raised his pale blue eyes to Blake’s face. “You look like you’ve just walked off the set of a magazine photo shoot.”

       Blake found himself grinning at the table. Maybe even blushing a little too. If Justin were sincere it was an awesome compliment coming from such a hottie. “Appearances can be deceiving.”

       “Yeah, they sure can,” Justin replied lowly, more to himself.

       “Seriously, you don’t care the whole school may turn on you?”

       “No, I don’t care. Besides, you have magic fingers and I… well I have magic, plain and simple. These little assholes do, say, and think what I want them to. I’ve been here two months and already I’m king.”

       Blake laughed. It was true. Justin wasn’t being cocky. They ate out of his hand. And it was a pleasant surprise to know Justin was intentionally being manipulative. It was too bad they couldn’t be friends. Blake thought he might enjoy getting to know Justin better.

       He sighed and stood, starting to pack his things away. Justin sat there slumped in his chair, watching his every move. But he didn’t say anything and he didn’t stop Blake from leaving. Blake gave a short wave as he walked away, vaguely wondering what the purpose of that visit had been but not really caring enough to find out. He knew it wouldn’t happen again.

      And then it came as a complete surprise when as he sat down for lunch- at a table that quickly cleared as soon as he arrived- and sat down directly opposite him a minute later. Blake pulled the ear buds that were blasting music out of his ears and left it dangling over his shoulder as he stared in bewilderment at the jock across from him. “Have you lost your mind or something?”

     “Or something.”

     Blake frowned. “Either you’re clueless or you know exactly what you’re doing and if it’s the latter then that makes you an asshole. I thought maybe you weren’t. You were different. But this just proves me wrong. I’m not stupid. I know what you’re doing. And thanks. Thanks a lot.”

     Justin’s eyes widened a little at the hostile tone. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

     Blake snorted. “Sure. You don’t realize by sitting here in front of the entire senior year, you’ve just put a bigger target on my fucking back. I just…” he hissed and stood, ignoring his lunch and grabbing his bag and trying to ignore the venomous glares coming from those who regularly left him with bruises. “I’ll be sure to name my next black eye after you.”

     Blake quickly left, leaving Fen staring after him in surprise. And then he shook his head. He hadn’t actually thought of that. He cursed under his breath. Blake was right. He just put a bigger target on the mechanic’s back. Fen growled under his breath as he stood and turned to head back to his _friends_. Some damage control was in order.

* * *

 

Three days passed and the last two Blake had missed school. On the third day, Fen and his purring truck pulled up into an empty driveway of a two story house. It was small, tall and narrow, but well kept. It looked like it had recently been given a new paint job and a new roof. He sat there in his truck, staring at the house and wondering why he was making an effort like this. Sure he needed Blake’s help, but he didn’t need to go about getting his help this way. He admitted silently, foolishly, he wanted it to be this way.

     Sighing in annoyance with himself, he opened the door and climbed out. He grabbed his backpack before shutting the door and walking down the path and up the porch stairs. He knocked briskly on the door, vaguely wondering- hoping- if Blake were even home and wondering what his parents were like. And he was more than curious to know why Blake had skipped school two days in a row. He’d had to miss school himself on Monday, so he wasn’t sure if Blake had actually missed three days…

       The door opened to reveal a short man. The man’s face was wrinkled, showing off his age, and yet he had a full head of dark hair. Only the sideburns and the short beard were white. Stark white. The man was leaning back and not looking at Fen. Instead he was looking back into the room. Fen heard the television blaring.

       The old man grunted.

       “I’m looking for Blake Brennan. He lives here, right?”

     Finally the old man turned to him. He raised a brow, looking him up and down before grunting again. Fen momentarily thought there was recognition in those eyes, but he quickly dismissed that thought. No one would ever come close to guessing about him.

     He was about to announce why he’d come, but Blake came into view then, walking out from another room. He didn’t see Fen standing out on the porch. “I wish you would tell me in advance when I need to go shopping again instead of waiting until there’s nothing left in the pantry.”

     The old man grunted yet again, his eyes already going back to wherever he’d been staring when he opened the door. Blake turned at this and finally caught sight of him. Fen narrowed his eyes. Blake had two black eyes and a busted lip. He had a bandage over his left cheekbone and two fingers on his right hand were fixed with a brace.

       The old man disappeared into the house as Blake approached. The mechanic stepped out onto the porch. He didn’t even try to crack a polite smile this time. A silence descended and Fen couldn’t help but shift when he caught the accusatory glare the other boy was giving him. He deserved it.

       “You look nothing like your dad,” he finally said.

       Blake looked like he didn’t want to speak, but finally he did that graceful shrug thing. “He’s my guardian. Not my dad.”

       “Where are your parents?”

       Blake studied him intently before looking away. “Throwaway baby. Found outside of a firehouse. Or at least that’s what he says,” he gestured back towards the house. “What do you want?”

     “Noticed you weren’t at school the last two days. Thought I could bring your work.”

     Blake backed up closer to the doorway. “Leave me alone.”

       Fen studied the damage done to the other’s face again. It really pissed him off this was still going on. That it had gone on the day he’d missed school. He’d have to _persuade_ the little boys some more to quit doing it. He thought he’d made himself clear. “Don’t you have any support? Any friends?”

       Blake glared, stepped back, and slammed the door in his face. “That’s a no then.”

     He’d known it already, having been watching Blake at school for a while now. No one talked to him and Fen couldn’t understand why. They hadn’t spoken a lot, but from the time they had talked- and from all the watching he had done- Fen liked Blake’s attitude, his personality. Blake was a decent guy all around, smart too. Fen knew the reason why Blake didn’t talk to people wasn’t because no one talked to him. He didn’t’ talk to people in case he was talking to the wrong kind of person. But obviously Blake didn’t mind putting himself out there when it suited him otherwise Fen didn’t see how he could have gotten the art teacher in the position he’d caught them in.

     Walking in on them hadn’t really been a surprise. He’d known the art teacher was into boys. And no matter what anyone said, gay or straight, Blake Brennan was sexy. That was all there was to that. In fact Fen knew this was one of the reasons why Christian messed with Blake. Christian was also into guys. And the rage he passed onto Blake was because of that. Because of his upbringing, his family Faith, he’d been told it was wrong and had to hide it. And it enraged him and he took it out on an easy target, on someone who refused to hide himself. Fen shook his head as he lifted his hand and knocked again. This planet was fucked up. No wonder it wasn’t on the MAP yet.

     The old man opened the door again. Without even taking his eyes off the television the old man stepped aside. “Up the stairs and to the left,” he grunted out.

     Fen didn’t hesitate to step inside. He followed the directions and his ears, hearing music now blaring from a room upstairs. As he walked up, he felt eyes on him. He didn’t turn to look but he wondered why the old man was staring at him. He got the impression the old man was surprised and yet relieved. Fen wondered why.

       “I didn’t set it up,” he said the moment the bedroom door had been opened after he knocked. “I didn’t know they were going to do that.”

       “I told you what would happen.”

       “Yeah. I’m sorry. Tell me about it?”

       Blake looked at him like he was crazy but Fen acted like it was a perfectly reasonable question so after a pause, he got the story. “It was like always. They ambushed me on my way home from school. The girls were there too this time. They only stood back and laughed. Guess they didn’t like seeing you talking to me. Maybe they were afraid I’d turn you gay.”

       “Little shits,” Fen hissed.

       “That’s the company you keep.”

       Fen took a breath. “Can I come in?” he asked waving into the room Blake was blocking.

       “I’m not one hundred percent you weren’t involved. I’d appreciate it if you left,” Blake said bluntly and Fen nodded and stepped back, though he wasn’t prepared to leave yet. He needed to make some progress first. He could understand Blake’s thinking though.

     “Can we talk at least? Somewhere?”

     “Why?”

     Fen shrugged. “I brought your school work,” he said again, holding up his backpack.

       Blake stared at the bag before looking off to the side, his forehead lined with creases. Obviously he was trying to make up his mind. Fen waited quietly; studying Blake’s face and becoming increasingly angry over the bruising and trying not to show it. Finally the mechanic nodded. Instead of stepping back to allow him into his room, he stepped out and led Fen back down and into the kitchen. He waved to a chair sitting at a round table. Fen took the seat.

       “Want something to drink?”

       “Yeah, thanks.”

       Things were quiet for a while. Fen sat there sipping on his can of coke, trying hard not to grimace at the taste. He still wasn’t used to it even after two years, while Blake unabashedly stared at him. Still with suspicion.

       “I’m going to tell you a secret,” Fen finally said. Blake straightened in his chair. “Christian wants you.” He paused and looked into surprised eyes and smirked. “It’s no surprise why.”

       Blake blew out a breath and then laughed. “Fucker.”

       Fen shrugged. It was the truth even if Blake didn’t believe him. “So… how long have you been a mechanic?”

       “Ever since I can remember. Diaeran- yeah, I know. Weird name. He says I’ve been tinkering with things since I was a baby.”

       Fen had stiffened and raised a brow when Blake mentioned the name Diaeran. It wasn’t a weird name. At least not to him. It sounded familiar. Too familiar. He turned and looked over his shoulder to find said man sitting on a couch in the living room which was across the way from the kitchen. The old man’s eyes were glued to the television. And even though his eyes were glued to that tv set, Fen had a feeling the old man was listening to every word.

       He turned back to stare at Blake. “Cars your only thing?”

       “I work on anything I can get my hands on.”

     “How old are you?”

     “We’re in the same year. You figure it out.”

     Fen hummed. “Afraid to tackle something you’ve never seen before?”

     “Is there a point to these random questions?”

     “I took my truck to several shops before being able to find someone who could fix her and fix her properly.”

       Blake cocked his head. “Do you know mechanics?”

       “I know enough. But not enough to fix things when shit hits the fan. You can fix anything?”

       Before Blake could answer, a gruff voice answered from the other room. “He can fix _anything_ ,” the old man said firmly. Blake nodded with a wide smile.

       Fen grinned and stood. He dug into his bag and brought out notes and worksheets and put them in front of Blake, who was staring at a small sticky note pressed against one of the papers. “My number. In case you need help or more notes or something,” he explained even though he knew Blake would never call him. He was still unsure as to why the jock was talking to him.

      “See you at school.”

     “Look-”

     “If I talk to you, I’ll make sure no one is around. I don’t want your pretty face hurt anymore.”

     It was funny hearing the sputtering coming from the kitchen as he left it and headed for the door. He called out a good bye as he stepped out of the house. Just as he stepped down from the porch, a hand grabbed onto his jacket. Fen looked over his shoulder to find the old man there.

     “Take him with you. When you go, take him with you. He doesn’t belong here.”

     The old man was back in the house with the door shut before Fen could ask what he meant because surely he didn’t mean what he thought he meant. That would imply the old man knew. But how could he. No one did. He shook his head and walked to his truck, deciding to forget about it. The old man was probably senile. And yet, over the next few weeks, Fen could never put the words out of his mind.

* * *

A/N: Not a new story. This was published on fictionpress in 2011. But it is still being updated. Hope you enjoy reading it. I'll prob post a chap every day. There are nine chapters so far. Let me know what you think. :D


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

 

Blake’s shoulders sagged in relief when the bell rang for the end of the day. It was the start of a three day weekend. He grabbed up his Calculus book and notebook, shouldered his bag, and made his way to the door. Trying to ignore the laser beam of concentrated hate aimed between his shoulders as he went. He’d felt the glares throughout the class. From one particular person.

     He already had his ear buds in and his music player blaring by the time he got to his locker. Luckily the girl who shared the locker below his had already come and gone by the time he reached it. He tended to walk slowly to his locker at the end of the days for this very reason. The chick would be gone and so would her little clique of chicks.

     “Clique of chicks.” Blake snorted at himself and then began to snicker. He then jumped nearly a mile high when his locker door was suddenly slammed shut. As he turned to the jock he was thankful his hand hadn’t been in the way.

     “You scared me,” he said after regaining his breath. He opened his locker back up, intensely aware of the guy moving around to the other side where there would be nothing between them. “What do you want now?”

     Justin frowned, staring at the side of Blake’s head. They were very nearly the same height. He licked his lips. “Why are you always so hostile when I come by?”

     “It’s because you shouldn’t be talking to me.”

     “But I wanna talk to you,” he whined, leaning in slightly.

     Blake whipped his head around to finally look him in the eye. He looked surprised at first, and then he laughed. Unfortunately it didn’t last long. Fen saw it when Blake suddenly remembered where exactly they were and who was around them. He finished gathering what he needed, shut and locked his locker, and took off towards the exit without a backwards glance. Fen smirked as he watched him walk off for a few moments and then he looked over his shoulder; his smirk turned into a hard stare. Christian was unsteady on his feet as he quickly turned away and disappeared down another corridor.

     Blake made it out of the school without any more incidents, and breathed in relief, happy the weekend was in front of him. It had been a relatively stress free week. Maybe that had to do with Justin’s stalking, with the jock visiting his house. That had been weird. He still didn’t know why the guy had gone to his house, or even how he’d figured out where he lived. Yeah, sure, he’d brought Blake’s missed work, but Blake didn’t believe that was the entire reason for the visit. Blake had a moment’s thought of being hit on. Maybe Justin was trying to hit on him, wanting to get closer in that way. But he’d only thought about that for a minute. Even though the guy had dropped that pretty face comment, the vibes coming from him weren’t like that. He didn’t think that was the reason. So why was Justin suddenly trying to get buddy buddy?

      On another note. The jocks had backed off too. There hadn’t even been any derogatory slurs aimed his way whenever he had to walk by them or when he went into a class he shared with the assholes. In fact they almost seemed afraid whenever he came near. Especially Christian. Had Justin spoken truthfully? Was Christian attracted to him? The thought was really bizarre.

     Blake made his way to work. When he got there, he changed into his jumpsuit and tied a bandanna over his hair. And then he jumped right into work, forgetting about the outside world. He had three other mechanics working with him. They were okay. They didn’t give him shit, but they weren’t the friendly type outside of work either, probably because they were older. They were civil enough during work because they recognized and respected his skills, but other than that they didn’t have time for him. Blake was only glad they all shared a love of the same type of music and usually the workshop was blaring with it. Usually no drama ensued within the garage, which Blake was always grateful for.

     The time spent at work always seemed to fly by, and before he knew it shop hours were over. He vaguely heard goodbyes from the others as they left, and called out a goodbye to them. He had a tendency to stay late, even after the owner had gone. But the owner was a cool guy. Gave him the time he wanted after hours and trusted Blake to close up the shop by himself. Sometimes on the weekends Blake never even went home between shifts.

       It was thirty minutes past midnight when the sound of pounding against the locked door echoed around the garage, cutting through the metal opera music he had on. Blake hopped off the stool he’d commandeered and tossed an engine manual onto the counter beside him before carefully making his way to the door built into one of the garage doors. As he passed the four foot tall tool tower, Blake grabbed a large heavy wrench.

     “Who is it?” he called once he was standing beside the door, not even willing to first look out of the thin window. It was way past close time. No one should be around looking for anyone here.

     “Justin.”

     Blake was silent a minute. “I’m thinking of getting a restraining order.”

     Justin laughed at this. “What? You don’t like my stalking?”

       Blake sighed and unlocked the door. “I don’t like getting beat up,” he said as the jock stepped inside. “No, scratch that. I don’t like my clothes getting ruined. My wardrobe isn’t exactly cheap. I work hard for my stuff.”

       “It won’t happen again.”

       Blake ignored this and walked over to the stereo to turn it down. He turned around and leaned against the table, crossing his arms over his chest. “What now?”

       Justin sent him a disarming smile. “I need a genius mechanic. You up for it?”

       “Up for what?” Blake asked slowly, warily.

       “To lay those magic fingers on something you’ve never seen before. Come on, please. I need to fix up something and I have no idea how mechanics work. At least, not the way I need to know. I’m complete shit at it, Blake. Please.” Blake started chewing the inside of his cheek. Fen could tell he was debating with himself. “I swear it’s something you’ve never seen before. More stuff like you saw in my truck.”

     That did it. Blake’s eyes brightened with excitement. “Yeah, alright. Let me get my jacket—oh hey,” he called out as he walked away, “my guardian told me to tell you that you look a lot like your father.”

       Fen tensed, though Blake didn’t see this, and his eyes widened in disbelief. “My father?”

       “Yeah. He said something about meeting him a long time ago.”

     Fen had no idea how to process this information. Not at the moment anyway, so he pushed that away for another time when he would have the time to ponder on it. He watched Blake shrug into his bomber jacket and then grab a tool box off the table. It was an old banged up tool box. Bright neon green with band stickers slapped all over it. Among those stickers was another, the largest and it exclaimed, “Hands Off, Bitches!”

       Fen headed outside, waiting in the parking lot while Blake locked up the shop. When Blake appeared, he walked towards Fen and the truck slowly, practically hugging the tool box to his chest while his eyes wheeled around nervously. It really pissed Fen off that Blake didn’t trust him, but again he could understand. Blake was intelligent. Anyone who followed him blindly would be an idiot. Experience speaks volumes.

       “Come on. It’s a bit of a drive. Do you have a curfew?”

       “No,” Blake murmured as he slipped into the passenger seat, setting the toolbox on his lap before buckling up.

       They started the journey in silence and then Fen fiddled with the radio until a station came on that pleased both of them. But as the minutes ticked by, and as they left the city limits, the boy next to him became more and more tense. And when they reached wooded area twenty minutes later, Blake was hardly breathing and his hands were white around the tool box handle.

     Blake wanted to turn and look out of the window. To watch where they were going, to try and remember the way, but he was afraid to turn away. If he did that, he could no longer watch Justin from the corner of his eye. And he was afraid if he looked completely away, something bad would happen.

       Finally Justin came to a stop… somewhere. All Blake knew was that they were among the hills and surrounded by trees. Justin put the truck in park and turned it off before hopping out. Slowly Blake followed him. It was pitch black outside. He jumped a mile in the air when Justin turned to face him fully.

     “Y-yeah…” Blake laughed nervously. “This is getting a little weird. Think I lost my mind deciding to come up here with you.” He wondered if there were any campers nearby that might hear him should he need to scream that he was being murdered.

    “Blake. I am _not_ going to attack you,” Fen grit out. Blake’s eyes were wide with trepidation. He could see that even in the darkness around them.

     “No offense but I don’t know you. I’m not going to just trust whatever you say. This is fucking weird, man!”

     “You know me… a little.”

     “Yeah. The only jock I know who is half way decent…”

     “Look, we don’t have time for this.”

     “I feel like I’m being set up for a gay bash party.”

     “I haven’t a problem with you in any way.”

     Blake snorted. “So you say.” He didn’t really believe him and yet he wasn’t backing away. Trying to make an escape away from this darkened area. He could be murdered here and no one would find him for weeks.

     “Who do you think kept them from going after you?”

     Blake blinked at that. “Why?”

     “I don’t like that shit. It’s annoying. It makes no sense to me. And you’ve never bothered anyone. They’re jealous of you anyway.”

       “Yeah right.”

     “It’s true. They get mad because most of the girls in school watch you. They look at you and it’s clear they wished you weren’t gay. You’re good looking and you’re interesting. My team mates can’t stand that. They don’t like someone gay turning their girls’ heads.”

       “The girls are bitches too.”

       Fen nodded and grinned. It was true. “It’s the jealously thing again. Your good looks, the way you dress, and the fact you have more grace in your entire body than they do in their little pinky fingers.”

     “You’re... well spoken.”

     Fen smirked. “I’m a lot of things…. Look, I really need you to trust me. I need your help.”

     “With what?”

     “An engine. A large complicated engine,” he explained as he turned and started walking away. “I can’t do it by myself. I’ve got fuel and limited power, but the engine is busted completely and until that’s fixed, the fuel is mostly useless. I can’t use maximum power without the engines working.”

     Blake had started walking after him without conscious thought. He was more curious than scared now. “Is it an RV or something?”

     “Or something,” Fen muttered.

     They walked for only five minutes before Fen’s flashlight hit something that wasn’t a tree. He paused and waited for Blake to come up beside him. Blake squinted. “Huh,” he commented when he realized they were looking at a big abandoned barn.

       “It’s in there,” Fen said.

       “Of course it is,” Blake replied dryly.

       The jock grinned and tugged on the mechanic’s sleeve before walking on. As Blake followed, he opened his tool box and pulled out another large wrench. Just in case. “Let’s go!” Justin called from where he was standing next to the opened door.

       “Fuck you!” Blake snapped, though he couldn’t help grinning a little. He raised the wrench when he was beside Justin again. “I’ll hit you in the head with this if you don’t stop rushing me. I’m allowed to be wary.”

     Justin grabbed his wrist. His grip wasn’t painful, only firm. “Relax already,” he muttered as he drew Blake into the darkened barn. “I’m going to lead you in. Don’t want you to trip on something.”

       “Why’d you turn your light off?”

       Justin didn’t answer and Blake bit his lip. However, Justin still had his wrist, and instead of that making him more wary, it actually eased the tension. They moved in further and Blake didn’t know how far into the barn they were since it was pitch black, but soon he heard Justin step on something. His shoes connected with something metal. The noise echoed throughout the barn causing Blake to jump. The hand around his wrist squeezed gently. “Step,” Justin instructed and Blake followed the order. His scuffed up work shoes connected with a solid sheet of metal and soon they were walking up an incline.

       “Ramp?”

       “Yeah.”

       “Weird… is this some old ass plane?”

       “…kinda.”

       “Jerk. Why didn’t you go to some airstrip and ask help from an airplane mechanic?”

       “I can’t trust anyone but you, Blake. I know when you see what you’re about to see, you won’t go off telling the first person you see.”

     Blake decided to stop asking questions for now. Nothing was making sense and with each question, he became more confused. So he concentrated on the hand gripping his wrist, the sound of their echoing footsteps as they travelled down a dark corridor, and the smell of stale air. There was also a curious low humming around them. So low he could barely hear it. Blake wondered what that was.

     “Why won’t you let me see?” so much for not asking questions.

     “I will. Eventually.”

     “Your non answers are getting annoying.”

     Justin didn’t answer, but he suddenly stopped and flicked on the flashlight and immediately Blake saw why. They were at the top of a narrow set of stairs. Justin released his wrist and headed down and Blake stayed close to his back. At the bottom of the stairs, Justin kept the light on and they went on to walk another corridor. Just how big was this… plane? Blake was going to say this was a plane. It had to be. It couldn’t be an RV or anything like that. From the amount of walking already, an RV was too small. But… from the amount of walking, they should have passed through the entire barn already. This thought kind of had his brain turning to mush with thoughts of the impossible and he no longer paid attention to anything except for the heat of Justin’s back in front of him.

     When they stopped again, Blake looked up to find a door. Justin tensed a bit and then looked over his shoulder at him with narrowed eyes. Blake raised a brow in response. Justin turned back and leaned over to the side to press his hand against a transparent pad Blake hadn’t seen before. His eyes widened when the pad glowed a soft green and then the door slipped open on its own, rising up and disappearing. And then soft lighting flickered on in the room before them. The lights weren’t on fully and weren’t on brightly due to power reserve.

       “Holy fuck! You stole a government military plane!”

       “I didn’t steal anything. This isn’t a government craft.”

     “It crashed then and you found it.”

     “Nope.”

       Blake groaned. “Nothing makes sense!”

     “All you need to do right now is focus on fixing the engine,” Justin told him, moving to the side and sweeping a hand inside. “This is the engine room.”

       Blake gave him a narrowed look as he passed by him and into the room. His mouth dropped open when he saw exactly how large the room was and how gigantic the engine actually was. “I can’t wait for you to explain this.”

       “And I swear I will. Sometime.”

       Nothing was said for a long time after that. Blake went around inspecting all the sections of the engine, while Fen stood back and watched him. After a time, when Blake took to inspecting one particular section again, the most damaged section, Fen decided the silence was boring.

     “How did you manage to get the art teacher on his knees for you?”

       Blake paused in his observations, going very still. It only lasted a moment before he answered. “I told him to,” he announced with a shrug.

       “You fuck him?”

       Blake snorted as he squat to study the bottom of a section, noting there was heavy leakage there. “No way. He was good for one thing and one thing only. Though to be honest, he sucked at it. No pun intended. He gave head like a virgin. All the time. He’s spineless. No one like that gets near my ass—I need some more light here.”

       Fen understood Blake was done with that conversation, but he grinned all the same. Blake had unwittingly given away a very delicious piece of information about himself. He was actually surprised Blake had given that much out without blinking an eye. Though he shouldn’t have been too surprised. Blake wasn’t shy about his sexuality. At all. And the fact he had the balls to play around with a teacher made him twice as appealing.

       He handed Blake a light. Blake flashed a grin, shifted to his knees, and crawled underneath the coolant regulator… or something. Fen didn’t really know what the parts of the engine were called. Blake whistled long and loud when he had a good look at the innards of the section he was studying. Fen just stood there watching Blake wiggling around. He had an urge to reach out with his hand… Blake dropped to his stomach and flipped around onto his back. He bent his knees and scooted himself back until only his shins and feet were visible. The rest of him hidden by the engine.

       Fen cleared his throat and swept his tongue around his suddenly dry mouth. “Think you can fix her?”

       “Not sure yet. What the heck happened?”

       Fen narrowed his eyes when he came to remember just how he’d ended up stranded there. “Attacked. Luckily only pirates, despite near death.”

       From under the metal Blake huffed in annoyance. “Fine. Don’t tell me. No need to make up things.”

       “I’m not-” he shut his mouth. Blake wasn’t ready yet.

       Suddenly Blake was standing in front of him. “Where are the tools that go with this engine?”

       Fen stepped back and waved over to a set of shelves mounted on the wall, tucked between two sections of the massive engine.

       “Cool. You can go now. Let me work. I’ll fix this baby for you.”

       Fen nodded and left Blake alone to tackle the job.

 

* * *

 

The entire weekend when Blake wasn’t needed back at the mechanic shop, he and Justin spent the time in the barn with Blake working on the secret engine. He never questioned why whenever he walked into the barn, even when it was in the middle of the day, that he could never see exactly what it was he was walking into and Justin never gave any explanations. Every time he tried to decipher what it was, he could only see a huge hulking blurry thing made of metal before Justin tugged or pushed him up the ramp and inside. He wasn’t really allowed to wander from the engine room either, though Justin had promised to give him a proper tour of whatever it was he was in. Blake could tell Justin was nervous for whatever reason.

     When the weekend ended and Tuesday was upon them, Blake was disappointed. He didn’t want to go to school. He wanted to go back to that barn and continue to mess with the engine. It was made up of components he’d never seen before, and yet… he could swear he’d messed with stuff like that before. And besides all that, he was kind of disappointed that the weekend was over because that meant he couldn’t hang out with Justin anymore. And though he shouldn’t care, he couldn’t help it. He liked the time they spent together. Maybe he considered them friends. He was attracted to the guy, yeah- who wouldn’t be?- but he liked just hanging out with him. Talking to him. Or just sitting around listening to music together. He pushed his attraction away. Far, far away. It wouldn’t be productive. He was used to doing such a thing. Getting a crush on a straight guy was a big no no and it was a path that led to nothing but trouble and pain. No thanks. If only Justin wasn’t such a hot ass though. It would be way easier.

     Justin spent most of the weekend disrupting Blake’s concentration by asking him questions about himself. He seemed to genuinely want to know about his life. No one had ever made the effort to get to know him before. It was nice. And it had been great getting to know Justin as well. Blake knew he knew more about Justin than the jock’s friends did. Blake got the feeling Justin didn’t like the kids he hung out with. But that was just his opinion.

     “Going to school!” he called out to his guardian as he opened the door. He didn’t expect a response and he didn’t get one.

     Blake stepped out and shut the door behind him, thinking about the odd relationship he had with his guardian. It was very unorthodox. To an outsider it might seem like there was no love, no care between them, but that wasn’t true. They didn’t talk a lot, true, but Diaeran took care of him. Made sure he had everything he needed. Also nursed him back to health when he was sick or when he’d been beat up. And he always had positive words for Blake when he needed it really badly. Diaeran also gave him an awesome weekly allowance. His guardian didn’t speak a lot, but when he did, it was always with something profound and never once had Blake felt that he was unwanted. Not once. Blake felt that without Diaeran, he would have lost himself to a deep depression long ago.

       Hopping off the porch, Blake threw the strap of his leather satchel over his shoulder and headed away from the house. He always left early to school since he didn’t ride the bus nor did he have a car. He saved a lot of money and a lot of hassle that way. So he made sure he had plenty of time to get to school. He was two houses away from his when he heard a horn blare and then the sound of a purring engine approach. Blake stopped and turned, surprised to see Justin’s truck headed for him. He blinked when the truck stopped beside him and Justin leaned over to open the passenger door.

       “What are you doing?” Blake asked in genuine surprise.

       “What’s it look like?”

       “Huh. Well, that’ll be a grand. No one said I was cheap.”

       Justin laughed. “Idiot.” He tapped the passenger seat.

       “Not a good idea.”

       Justin’s disarming smile was thrown at him. No fair. “Get in.”

       Blake sighed heavily before climbing in, accepting his doom. “I thought we decided not to be seen together.”

       “Stop worrying. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

       “It’s not like you can be my shadow for the entire day.”

       Justin’s easy going smile disappeared. He glared at the road in front of them. “They won’t touch you,” he promised.

       They got to school and had time to spare, so they spent it talking until the parking lot was nearly filled. When they entered the main doors, crowds parted, seeing just who he was walking with and then the gawking started. They made it only halfway down the main hall before they were interrupted.

     “What the fuck is this shit, Justin?” shouted a boy who came to stand in front of them. Blake recognized him as another jock, Clive Maxwell. This guy had beat him up on several occasions. Blake made himself relax. He wouldn’t show fear or even the slightest bit of apprehension to these people. He never did and that always pissed off his attackers more.

     Justin looked at Clive. “Did you wake on the wrong side of the bed this morning?” he sounded like he was joking, but his voice was also low, in warning.

     Blake pressed his lips together and turned his face away to keep from laughing aloud at the look on Clive’s face. Clive noticed the movement and glared at him before turning back to Justin. “You a fag now?”

     Justin moved so fast Blake didn’t even notice he’d moved until he heard a loud clang. Justin had grabbed Clive by the neck and threw him against the lockers. Blake moved to get a better view, saw Justin leaning into Clive with a murderous expression on his face and his fingers clutched tightly against Clive’s throat. Clive was looking off to the side and Blake looked to find Christian and some others standing there. Christian had his backed turned on Clive and he was shaking his head at the other boys. Blake turned back to Justin in time to see him lean in until his nose was nearly touching Clive’s. His fingers flexed and tightened and Clive looked terrified.

       “Don’t ever talk to me like that again,” Justin murmured lowly. “You’ll regret it. Isn’t that right, Christian?”

       Christian jumped and turned and quickly nodded. “They’re just friends, Clive.”

       “Not that it’s any of your business,” Justin hissed. “Learn your place.” He jerked his hand back, with Clive’s throat still in his hand, and then released, throwing Clive roughly back into the lockers. Blake turned and started to walk away without waiting for Justin. He was being stared at now. More than before. Less hateful glares. More curious. He wasn’t exactly comfortable with it.

       “That was entertaining,” he said lightly when someone fell in step beside him. “What do you have on Christian?”

       “Threatened to tell the entire school his secret.”

       Blake snorted. “And since you’re king, they’ll listen.”

       Justin smirked. “It’s good to be king.”

       They separated soon after. Fen leaving him at the art classroom’s door. He gave Blake a smirk, but as soon as the boy was turned away, he glared murder at the art teacher whose eyes were stuck on Blake’s ass until he felt those cold eyes on him. It didn’t help that Blake was purposely and yet subtly flirting with the teacher. Like Fen had previously thought, Blake knew how to get attention. Fen didn’t mind that, he just didn’t want the fucking art teacher getting that type of attention. Blake could do so much better. He deserved better. Fen bet the stupid teacher didn’t even know what to do to make Blake scream. Probably didn’t know how to make Blake writhe and squirm and beg…

     Fen spun away from the open door, shaking his head rapidly. _No_ , he told himself firmly. No. No.

     Despite his subtle flirting, it wasn’t intentional; Blake didn’t give David the time of day during class nor after class was dismissed. David was trying to catch his eye, but Blake ignored it and walked out of his room. Heading towards the nearest stairway, he was suddenly stopped when three girls blocked his path. He tried walking around them but they shifted to keep in front of him.

     “I need to get to my next class.”

     “That’s a nice scarf, Blake. Where’d you get it?”

     “The Armani Exchange downtown,” he answered in bewilderment. The girl’s eyes widened.

     “T-the sweater?” the brunette leaned forward, running her finger down the sleeve of his soft dark green cashmere sweater.

     “Armani also,” thanks again to his work and his guardian’s generosity. “Stop touching me and tell me what you want.”

     The three girls looked at each other and then back at him. “Are you and Justin… together?”

     It took a moment for him to answer. They didn’t sound hostile and that was really weird. More weird than having them approach and talk in the first place. “No. We’re friends.” _Are we friends?_

“But-”

       Blake knew what was coming and frowned. “Just because I’m gay doesn’t mean I’m going to get together with any guy that crosses my path. Just like you wouldn’t get together with any guy that crosses yours. We’re only friends.”

     The girl who hadn’t spoken yet took a deep breath and then, “is it true he doesn’t have a girlfriend? Is it true he likes blondes? I’d heard….” And on and on she went, and the other girls started talking too. Talking to him, asking him questions, acting as if this wasn’t the only time they’d ever spoken a word to him without glaring at him.

     Blake managed to escape in time to keep from being late to his next class. Then he was bombarded by a few other people asking the same things and then when getting answers, talking to him as if they’d always talked to him. The Biology teacher had to tell them to shut up and sit down.

     By the time lunch came around, Blake was pissed. It was confirmed. He was much better off being ostracized. He didn’t like these people talking to him. And the worst part, all they wanted to talk about was Justin! As if he were the walking talking version of the Justin Dictionary. They didn’t want to know him, they wanted to know Justin. He didn’t really blame Justin for any of this, but somehow… it hurt. Blake huffed and took his usual isolated table and shoved his ear buds in his ears. He didn’t even take them out when Justin sat across from him.

       “I hate these people,” he hissed to himself. “They’re all sheep.”

       Fen watched him stab his cold pasta with a fork with a rising sense of worry. Blake’s shoulders were slumped, as if he were beaten and his eyes were downcast, dark lashes almost obscuring the hurt in his eyes but not enough to keep it from the guy across from him. Fen didn’t like it. He kicked Blake in the shin, grinning when Blake’s face snapped up and he scowled.

     Blake yanked the ear buds out. “Do you know how many people have come up to me, trying to talk to me?” Fen frowned. “No,” he hissed, reading his look. “Not to be mean. They weren’t mean at all. But all they wanted to talk about was you!”

       Fen sat back and rubbed his hands over his eyes. He knew what was wrong with Blake now. “Sorry, Blake.”

       “I wish they wouldn’t talk to me at all! I was fine by myself! I liked being by myself!”

       “I know.”

       Blake huffed and looked down at his mutilated lunch. All the fight leaving him. “It’s not your fault.” He took a deep breath and tried to relax. “I need a ride to the scrap yard after school,” he said, reaching into his bag and digging out a paper and studying it. “Need to get a few things for the engine.”

       “We’ll go right after.”

       “Thanks.”

       Fen rolled his eyes, though he was grinning. “You’re the one helping me.”

       Blake stared at him. He’d begun to smile but Fen saw the moment he started to think of something else. Something that bothered him. “You’re… you’re going to go, aren’t you? When I fix this engine. You’re going to take off and never come back. You won’t be around anymore.”

       That effectively dampened Fen’s rising spirits. For many reasons. The major reason sitting right across from him. Beyond the fact that he really considered Blake a friend- and that hadn’t happened in the two years since he’d crashed, no matter the amount of people he met during that time- but the fact that he would be leaving Blake alone again. Blake would be stuck here alone and the problems he had before would start all over again. With him gone, Christian would pull his tail out from between his legs and no doubt his abuse would be three times as bad. Aside from that, Fen could tell Blake liked their interactions. He was a lot lighter, more carefree when they were together. They were friends. If he were to go and never be seen again… Blake had no one beyond his guardian. He’d go back to being lonely again. He shouldn’t be alone. He had so much to offer.

     Blake shrugged and stood, grabbing his tray and his bag. “Don’t worry about it,” he muttered before turning and walking away. The unspoken words were clear. _I don’t need you._

     How could he not worry about it? He didn’t want to leave Blake alone. Fen stood. Frustration hit him like a tidal wave. He hadn’t expected this to happen. He hadn’t expected to form an attachment with his mechanic. Everything was all fucked! There was no way he could leave without being worried. Without feeling massive amounts of guilt. What was he supposed to do? He didn’t want to leave Blake alone again.

       _“Take him with you. When you go, take him with you.”_

“Fuck,” he hissed under his breath. He had no idea what to do.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

 

Things became kind of strained between them after that. Blake closing off because he knew Fen was going to leave and Fen closing off because he didn’t know what to do. He’d never been indecisive before and he didn’t like to be around Blake because he always felt like he was betraying him.

   Blake was having unbelievable success with fixing the engine, which was just odd to Fen. This technology and engineering should have been over Blake’s head. And though Blake had difficulty with the engine at first, he spent all his free time studying it before ever laying a tool on it. But once he did it was quite clear he knew what he was doing. It was clear the engine could be fixed in no time. And then… then he could go home.

       A week went by before Fen had enough. At least enough of Blake walking around as if he were just a worker being paid to do a job and nothing else. Fen thought maybe if Blake finally knew the truth he might give him a break and stop treating him like he treated everyone else. With indifference. With this bolstering his actions, Fen moved through his craft and into the engine room. He crossed the space to pause the radio, cutting off the music and then moved and crouched beside Blake’s outstretched legs.

     “How’s it going?”

     “Good… Could you turn my music back on please?”

     Blake’s polite tone did nothing but frustrate Fen. “I need to tell you some things. Show you something too.”

     “No thanks. I don’t need to know anymore,” Blake murmured flatly.

     “You’ve had questions.”

     “That was before I realized… I just don’t want to know anymore.”

     “Blake, I have to go home. I have responsibilities.”

     “Who’s stopping you?”

     “You don’t understand,” he said, dropping a hand to Blake’s knee. It was immediately shaken off.

     “I don’t want to understand!”

     Fen began to rub his temples. Fine. He would have to be blunt. “Remember when you asked if I got my truck from outer space?” there was no answer. “You were half right. I told you once I knew mechanics but not enough. I know enough that I can rig an automobile engine. Those components you’d never seen before? It’s like this engine, isn’t it? This engine is for galactic travel. You’re lying in a spacecraft fixing my alien engine.

     “I’m not from Earth, Blake. My home is millions of light years away. And I left home for a time when things became too much. I’d been under a lot of pressure and there were personal and family issues... So I took my ship and prepared for a holiday. I went beyond the boundaries of the space Alliance and ended up getting attacked by pirates. My ship was damaged, the engine blown, but I managed to find my way to this lonely solar system and land before the engines completely died. That was a miracle, by the way. So here I am. I’ve been stuck on Earth for two years trying to find someone who could fix this.

     “I couldn’t go to some rocket scientist, because you know what would have happened. The government would get involved. There isn’t really anyone I could trust with this. So I’ve spent the last two years moving around trying to find the right person. I was lucky to find you, Blake. In more ways than one.”

     Silence descended. Minutes passed. Fen held his breath. Blake wasn’t moving at all. Finally Blake hissed out. “Shit.” He scooted out from under the engine. “Shit, shit, shit.”

     “Blake?”

     Blake climbed to his feet, walked around Fen to the far wall where he snatched his “Hands Off, Bitches!” tool box from the shelf. He then grabbed his music player. “Shit!” he shouted and then walked out of the room. “I hooked up with a fucking mental patient!”

     Fen concluded, as he listened to Blake stomping (running!) away that that could have gone worse. At least Blake hadn’t tried to bash him over the head with his favorite wrench. He snorted as he jogged after him, listening and chuckling at all the mutters he could hear coming from the earth boy until Blake left the ship and couldn’t be heard anymore. By the time Fen cleared the ship and the barn, Blake was already running up the hill and was past the parked truck. “Blake!”

     He sprinted off after him. It was easy to catch him since the idiot refused to leave his precious toolbox behind. The added weight slowed him down and Fen was a fast runner. Blake was cresting another hill and just barely missed running into a tree in his panic when Fen caught up with him. He dropped a heavy hand on Blake’s shoulder and jerked him to a stop.

       Blake cried out and spun around, swinging his toolbox as he did so. Fen nearly got his face smashed in by the thing. “Let go!”

       “Blake, it’s okay.”

       “You’re insane! Let go of me! I’m going home!”

       Fen dodged another swing by the toolbox. “Planning on running all the way back to the city?”

       “I’m not about to ask you for a ride! I’m not crazy… unlike someone I know!”

       Fen raised his hands, keeping his eyes on the tool box of death. “I’m telling you the truth, Blake.”

       “Ha! Asshole! Freaking psycho asshole! Where’s your squad? Hiding around here with a video camera I bet!”

       Losing patience, Fen bent slightly and quickly barreled forward before Blake could swing the tool box again. He grabbed him around the stomach and swung him up over his shoulder. Blake dropped the tool box in surprise. Fen spun around and headed back towards the barn, ignoring Blake’s shouts for someone to help him, he was being murdered!

     “I’ll prove it, Blake. If in fifteen minutes you still want to go home, I’ll take you.” In answer Blake dug his fingers into Fen’s sides, like blunt claws. “That hurts,” he announced calmly.

     “Drop me, fucker!”

     “I’m not going to hurt you.”

     Blake kept his fingers digging into his back and sides and started wiggling around on top of his shoulder. Fen finally lost his temper and roughly slapped Blake’s ass. Blake stop struggling immediately and Fen noticed a hardness growing against his shoulder. His temper immediately vanished to be replaced by amusement.

     “You like it rough, baby?”

     “Fuck you, Justin!” Embarrassment colored Blake’s tone. “It’s not my fault you’re so hot and your hand’s kind of big and, yeah—just shut up!”

     Fen laughed. “Sorry, sorry. No more teasing. Promise.”

     Blake muttered under his breath, but thankfully he remained rather docile. Fen would remember this. A slap on the ass made for a docile Blake. When they got back to the barn, Fen pulled Blake from his shoulder, twisted him around and kept him against his chest using a gentle choke hold. “Watch the barn.”

       He fished into his pocket and pulled out a palm size triangular device and held it out, pressing a button on the bottom. Blake moaned. “Did you escape an asylum or something? You’re using a garage door-” he stopped talking and his jaw dropped when the image of the barn flickered and disappeared and suddenly he was looking at a spaceship twice the size of the barn. It was gleaming silver and black with scorch marks all over it. And it was the same shape as the device in Justin’s hand. “What the-”

     “My ship.”

     “B-but…”

     “I’m not psycho. I’m not lying to you. I’m telling the truth.”

     “B-but…”

     “Very articulate, Blake.”

     That seemed to regain Blake’s senses and he lurched away from Fen’s light choke hold. But instead of running away again, he ran straight to the ship and started jogging around the large craft, reaching up to skim his fingers against the cool metal, an awed look on his face. “Make it do something!”

      Fen laughed. “I can’t right now.”

     Blake ran back over to him. “But you said it had power. You said you had fuel and power.”

     “True, but I have to save the power for sporadic messages; to make the doors and lights work. To keep the hydroponic gardens working. There’s little power until the engine is back up and running.”

     Blake turned back to the ship. “Huh.”

     Fen grinned and dropped an arm over Blake’s shoulders. Blake was still staring at the spaceship, not really believing what he was seeing. Having a hard time processing information, though in the back of his mind, some things were beginning to make sense. He turned and peered at his companion’s face, frowning.

     “Your name’s not Justin is it?”

     “No.”

     Blake blew out a breath, relieved. “I knew it. Knew you didn’t look like a Justin.” He turned to fully face him. “What’s your name then?”

     “Close friends and family call me Fen. I’m not giving you my full name right now. You can call me Fen.”

     “Fen,” Blake repeated slowly, cocking his head to the side and dropping his eyes to Fen’s shoulder. Then he shrugged. “It’s better than Justin.” He looked back at Fen’s face, a sort of shy smile on his lips. “We’re friends?”

     “I’d like to think so. Though I know you have trust issues.”

     Blake started to chew the inside of his cheek and was looking Fen up and down. “So… you’re an alien?”

     “In your perspective, yeah.”

     “Huh.” Blake cocked his head again. “Is this what you really look like?”

     “Pretty much. My species is human with few internal differences.”

     “What sort of differences?”

     “DNA, blood, that sort of thing. I’m stronger and faster here. Gravity on my planet is different.”

     “Yeah, when you threw me over your shoulder, it was like I was weightless to you…”

     “Not exactly weightless, but yeah, it wasn’t difficult.”

     “What about your dick? Do you still have a dick?”

       Fen snorted. “Yeah. I’ve got a dick.”

       “Prove it.”

       Fen raised a brow but he didn’t hesitate to prove it and soon had his buckle undone and his pants and boxers down.

         Blake’s eyes went a little wide. “Um… nice,” he breathed. He then coughed, flushed, and looked away; mortified.

         Fen snickered and jerked his pants back up. “So you believe me?”

       Blake frowned and looked back at the ship. “Not really.” He shrugged and walked away and up the spaceship’s ramp. “Go get my tool box. When you come back I want a tour.”

       Fen sprinted back to fetch the precious tool box and when he returned to the ship, it was to find Blake had started the tour without him. Blake had discovered the passage to the top floor where the flight deck was located, as well as the sick bay and small canteen. There was also one single room right off the deck which Fen used as his room. He’d been using his ship as home for the last two years.    

     After the tour, Blake slunk off back to the engine room. He didn’t want to say, but he was certain the engine would run soon. In fact he was sure the engine could work now. It wouldn’t be stable, but it would run. He didn’t want to tell Fen. He didn’t want Fen to leave. If Fen was telling the truth about all this…. Blake placed his palms against the central part of the engine and dropped his head until his chin bumped his chest. It felt like he’d known Fen all of his life instead of only a month and he could imagine what he’d be like when Fen left his life. He was feeling it now. Anxiety, fear, the feeling that there was no point of anything ever… He didn’t know if he could deal with this. He’d had to deal with so many things over the years, but he didn’t know if he could survive this and still come out the same.

     And the dude was a fucking alien! He had to go and befriend a freaking alien. Not to say he completely believed all this crap, but it was kind of hard not believing it when he was standing in the bowels of a space ship surrounded by technology and engineering he’d never seen before.

     He clenched his teeth. He had a moment’s thought of sabotaging the engine, making it impossible to fix, delaying the inevitable… but he didn’t hang on to the thought. He could tell Fen really wanted to go home. In defeat, Blake dragged himself away from the engine and crossed the room towards the door. Beside the door were two pads. A hand pad and above that one was a small speaker with four buttons over it. The pad was connected with the ship’s communications system. Each button connected to a different part of the ship. One button was larger than the others and this one would carry his voice to every part of the ship.

       Blake pushed that button and leaned in. “Just…um, Fen?” when he was answered with a low chuckle at his slip up, Blake glare at the speaker.

     “Yeah?” Fen finally inquired after his annoying chuckle; the light said he was in the control room. Cockpit. Whatever.

     “You don’t sound like an alien!” he ranted.

     Fen snorted. “What is it?”

     Blake blew out a breath. “Try to start her up.”

     No verbal answer, but after a couple of minutes, the entire ship rumbled, the engine room being the loudest. The engine came to life, fuel rushing from one tube to another. Cylinders circling, a low whine, and then Fen could be heard shouting in excitement. Blake slumped back against the wall dejectedly. He was about to lose his best friend.

     In moments Fen was in the room, staring at Blake with wide excited eyes. Blake tried to hide his turmoil and grinned back at him. He could understand Fen’s excitement. He couldn’t begrudge him that. Not much. This all meant Fen could go home. Go back to his parents and his siblings- he had three apparently; two sisters and a brother.

     “It works, but it’s not stable yet. Let me work on it a couple days more. Just to make sure it stays running and won’t fall apart on you.”

     “You’re a genius, Blake! A freaking engineering genius! You fixed a space ship!”

     Blake ducked his head, unable to hide away the wide smile at such praise from Fen. Though he did let Fen pull him into an excited hug. If Fen noticed Blake held on tighter and longer than necessary, he didn’t let on.

 

* * *

 

_“Take him with you. When you go, take him with you. He doesn’t belong here.”_

Fen wanted to and he was surprised at how much he wanted to take Blake away from here. Blake wouldn’t flourish here. At all. He was living day to day with nothing much to look forward to. Blake deserved better. _He doesn’t belong here._ Fen dropped his head back against the head rest. He felt that was true also, but how can that be? Wasn’t he Earthen human? Hadn’t Blake been born on this planet?

       Fen paused in his thoughts to take a moment to just listen. The flight deck was mostly silent, but the music coming from the engine room was blaring throughout the ship. Fen wanted to take him and he knew if he didn’t, he’d regret it like nothing else before. But taking his friend would be complicated. Was he up for that? He would need to be responsible for Blake in almost every way. He couldn’t take Blake and set him loose once they arrived at his home. He wouldn’t do that. He’d have to take care of Blake and so many things would need to be done to introduce Blake into society and all the galaxies that entailed. Did he want that responsibility?

       A sudden loud clang reverberated throughout the ship. “Take that you—Ow! Fuck!”

       Fen snorted. And then he nodded. Yes. It wouldn’t even be a chore being responsible for him. In fact it would be satisfying in so many ways to take him away and watch him flourish in a society that would respect him; a society that wouldn’t ignore him for stupid reasons. Actually he could see himself proudly showing Blake off. He grinned sharply at that thought. Yeah, he could take Blake with him. He would. Only, he had to ask. Persuade Blake to leave the only world he knew behind. Shouldn’t be hard. The only thing that would hold Blake back was his guardian, and his guardian asked him to take Blake anyway.

     Blake suddenly popped up beside him. Reddish blue oil smeared across his cheek… scratch that. That was oil and blood. “Just so you know your engine’s a cunt. She bitch slapped me.”

       Fen grinned as he stood from his chair. He pushed a button on the arm rest and a light over head came on. He moved to stand directly in front of Blake and took his chin in hand, moving Blake’s face to the light so that he could see the shallow gash on his cheek. “Doesn’t look too bad.”

       “Better not scar.”      

       “No I have something for that.”

       Blake raised a brow. “Alien ointment?”

       Fen grinned, knowing full well Blake still didn’t believe he wasn’t from earth and that this was really a spacecraft. Fen shifted closer, making Blake’s eyes go wide. “Something like that,” he murmured lowly and dropped his free hand onto Blake’s hip. Blake sucked in a breath. “Are you hurt anywhere else?”

       Blake shook his head slowly, unwilling to dislodge the fingers still holding onto his chin. He was stumped right now. Fen had never gotten this close to him before and Fen’s eyes were dark, looking straight into his eyes. Darker and they looked dangerous, and yet not. Blake felt a pleasant chill run up and down his spine at the close contact and the look in his friend’s eyes.

     “Um…” Fen released him and stepped back, allowing Blake to think clearly. “No. Just this.” Fen grabbed his hands, pointedly looking at the cuts there. Blake shrugged. “That happens all the time.”

     “You’re hands have never looked this bad.”

     “Maybe I’ve been a little more rough recently,” Blake muttered, thinking about the times he released his frustrations out on the engine and vice versa. “And weren’t you listening? Your engine is a cunt.”

     “I’ve got some stuff in my bunk. Wait here.”

     Blake nodded and while Fen went off to get his alien ointment, Blake looked around with semi-disbelieving eyes. It certainly looked like a space ship control room, but what did he know. He’d never been in a spaceship before. And then he started to think about what it would be like to fly in this ship, through space, around planets, seeing the universe… an eager smile had begun to appear.

     “Here.” A hand dropped on his shoulder and turned him until he was facing Fen again. Before he could question anything, a wet cloth was pressed against the cut on his cheek. Blake sucked in a breath and then a pained whine escaped him. He tried pulled away, but Fen’s grip on his shoulder tightened. “Don’t be a baby.”

       “It stings.”

       “Do you want it to scar?”

       Blake pressed his lips together and tried to keep still. Fen smirked at him. Bastard. And then Fen took his chin in hand again, angling his face up and started dabbing at the cut, making sure all the oil was removed and the bleeding stopped. Fen took away the painful cleansing cloth and tossed it aside. He frowned. The cut was deeper than he’d first thought, but the foam would take care of that and make sure there would be no scarring of Blake’s pretty face.

     He produced a palm sized contraption that looked like a gun, except the barrel looked to be a glass tube and had light blue liquid inside. Fen pressed the barrel against the top of the cut and looked into Blake’s eyes, pleased that even though he was clearly skeptical, he was also trusting him and Fen grinned, because that pleased him more than he could admit aloud.

       “This will hurt a little,” he murmured, his grip on Blake’s chin tightening. Blake clenched his teeth and balled his hands into fists as Fen gently squeezed the trigger.

       Blake heard the whoosh of air releasing and then something wet, bubbling, foamy, and PAINFUL was sliding down the cut, _into_ the cut. He barely managed to keep from pulling away and shoving the foam gun thingy in Fen’s eye. Fen seemed to catch on to that thought because he started grinning. When he pulled away, he handed a dry clean cloth to Blake, watching his friend hop from foot to foot in order to distract himself from the pain.

     “Wipe that off in five minutes,” Fen said, indicating the line of white foam down Blake’s cheek. “Once you do, the cut will be sealed and healed.”      

     Blake nodded, clenched the cloth in his hands, and took off; presumably back to the engine room. Talking to himself as he went. “…alien ointment fucking hurts…can’t believe this shit…Spaceship, aliens... yeah, Blake. _You_ have lost your freaking mind.”

     Fen laughed as he sat back in his seat, and leaned forward towards the console. Time to send another message.

        


	4. Chapter 4

**Chap Four**

 

The engine was completely fixed and stable according to Blake; the ship purred, literally, and it was time to go home. With Blake, who had begun to get quiet and distant again, and Fen knew it was because of the thought of him leaving. It was time to ask—no. It was time to tell Blake that he was coming with. Now that he’d made up his mind, Fen couldn’t imagine leaving Blake behind. There were emotions involved. Emotions he didn’t think were appropriate at the time. He’d think about that later, during the three week flight back home. Right now though, he had to convince Blake to go with him. But he had no idea how to approach his friend on this.

       Blake did it for him. One night walking back to the truck from the ‘barn’, Blake stopped walking and looked at the ground. “When are you going home?”

       Fen ran a hand through his black hair and studied Blake’s down turned face. “Now. My schedule’s already made.” Truthfully, he’d planned to take off the minute Blake agreed to go with him. He’d only been stalling his departure for this very reason. Otherwise he would have left minutes after the engine had been fixed.

       Blake’s eyes snapped to his. They were wide and round. Then they dropped back to the ground, but not before Fen saw the hurt. Blake gave a halfhearted nod before turning back to the truck.

       Fen reached out, grabbing his shoulder. “Hey,” he said softly. “Blake, you should know… you’re my best friend-”

       Blake wrenched away from him. “F-fuck you.”

       “It’s the truth.”

       “Are you being an ass again on purpose?” Blake hissed, spinning around to face him. “You gotta know you’re my _only_ friend! Why… why say this shit when you’re about to leave? You’re going to leave and I’m gonna be a-alone again-” he cut off and cursed under his breath. He hadn’t meant to say that aloud. Why the fuck was Fen always making him so emotional? He hated it. “Just leave. Don’t say anything. Fucking go.”

       “I’m certain I can’t leave without you. I’m not leaving without you.”

       Blake sucked in a breath. Disbelief written across his face. “What are you trying to say?”

       Fen frowned. “What does it sound like?”

       “You… You want me to come with?”

       Fen walked to him and didn’t stop until they were toe to toe, until they were eye to eye. “Nothing tying you here, is there? Deny it all you want but we have a connection and I’m not willing to turn my back on it. I have to go home, Blake. For so many reasons. But I’m not going without you.”

       Blake peeked at him from under his lashes. A small amused smile forming. “You’re starting to sound gay.”

       “I’m being serious.”

         Blake crossed his arms over his chest and nodded. Fen remained silent and let him sort his thoughts. If this all turned out to be real and not Fen’s overactive insane imagination, his answer wasn’t an immediate no. He wasn’t particularly inspired by the world he lived in. Not at all. He lived only to exist day to day. And it may be the same way wherever Fen lived, but then at least he’d still have Fen… right?

     “I won’t ever abandon you,” Fen said as if reading his thoughts.

     “Gay talk again.” Fen pushed him and Blake snorted out a laugh. He looked at Fen for a long moment before releasing his breath. “Yes.”

     Fen sucked in a breath, pale blue eyes lighting in excitement. “Yes?”

       Blake smiled fully now, feeling the tingling of excitement and adrenaline coursing through his veins. “Yeah. I’ll go with you, space boy. I’ll let you show me the stars.”

     Fen laughed. “Now that was gay.”

     Blake laughed too and nodded. He then jumped when Fen whooped in relief and ran forward, throwing his arms around him and hoisting him off his feet in a bear hug. “You won’t regret it, Blake. I swear,” he whispered in his ear.

       Blake made himself not shiver, but he did allow himself to drop his head to Fen’s shoulder for a couple of seconds before he pulled back and started wiggling to get out of Fen’s strong embrace. At first Fen’s arms tightened around him, but then he quickly let go and stepped back, looking away and taking in a deep breath.

     When he turned back to Blake, he was all business. A serious expression on his face. “Okay. Okay. I need to start her up and do systems’ check. You need to go over the engine, make sure it’s going to keep purring. We can probably leave in an hour. Come on,” he turned back towards the barn. “We’ll also have to….” He was on a roll, checking things off in his mind and not noticing Blake was trying to get his attention.

     Blake ran around him and punched in lightly on the shoulder. “Fen!”

     “What? Blake, come on. We’ve wasted too much time already. I want to get off this planet already!”

     Blake huffed. “I’m not going to go shooting into the stars looking like this.” He swept a hand up and down indicating his mechanic suit, which was half covered in grease. “Not that I believe this shit anyway.”

         “If you don’t believe it, then you won’t have a problem getting into the fucking ship already!”

       “Don’t get all hostile, man!”

        Fen dragged a hand down his face before looking at Blake. Then he half smiled. “What’s wrong with how you look now?”

     Blake peered at him through narrowed eyes. “Is that a serious question?”

     Fen sighed and lifted his arm, checking out the watch on his wrist. “Fine. We’ll go back to your house and get some of your stuff. Quickly.”

     “Why are you in such a hurry? Got a date with a hot alien chick?”

     “Something like that.”

     “No… really?”

     “Yeah. It’s been two years in coming. Let’s go,” Fen said, grabbing his wrist and dragged him back to his truck. “I’ve been on this planet too long.”

     “I still kind of think you’re insane, just so you know.”

     “Who’s the more insane? Me for making the story or you for following along?”

     Blake didn’t answer. Instead he grinned widely. Maybe he was going along because he really hoped, even though it seemed impossible, that Fen was telling the truth and that the hunk of metal he’d been tinkering with and had brought to life actually was a space ship. But if this was real- Jesus, he couldn’t believe he wasn’t high thinking this- but if this was real, he had no problems with going into space. Going away. Maybe it would be better… away. Maybe it would be worse. He didn’t know and Fen didn’t give any hints as to what was out there beyond other inhabited planets and civilizations. But… he wanted to find out. He’d wanted more, more, and more after all, hadn’t he. This was certainly more.

     Once they got back to his house, it was to find it dark. When they stepped in and Blake flicked on a light, three suitcases and a travel trunk rested side by side right in front of the stairs. Also a large lockbox, a duffle bag, and three black travel garment bags hanging from a hook beside the stairs. Strangely, to Fen, a lone towel was thrown over the duffle bag.

       “Huh.” Blake stared at his luggage. Fen nudged him, indicating he should look around. When he did, Blake’s mouth dropped open. The living room was a shell. Everything, _everything_ was gone. That went for the kitchen as well.

     “Wasn’t giving me a choice, was he?” Fen murmured.

     Blake ignored him, jumped over the luggage- grabbing the towel as he went- and ran up the stairs. Fen found him standing in front of the room down from his. The room was also completely bare. Nothing but the essentials were left and even then it was bare. There was a skeleton of a bed; the mattress was even gone. All the drawers in the dresser were open and empty. The closet door was open and Fen saw that was empty as well. Fen looked over to find Blake just staring, a world of emotion swirling in hazel eyes.

     “He’s gone… He left me.”

     Fen moved to stand behind him, throwing his arms loosely over Blake’s shoulders and down his chest. “He knew you were going with me. He told me… he told me to take you when I go. He said he knew my father. He knew my father, Blake,” stressing that part, because how can that be if his father resided on another planet? “Are you sure you were a throwaway baby?”

     “I don’t know anything anymore. Like I said, only what he told me… he just left me.”

     Fen cleared his throat. “You were about to do the same,” he reminded and Blake stepped away from him, turning back into the hall.

     Blake’s eyes were wide and it was clear he didn’t know what to do. How to take this. But then he turned and headed across the hall straight for the bathroom, stripping as he went. Fen went back down stairs and stared at the luggage. He was curious to know what was in that lockbox. Maybe answers? When the shower went on, Fen sighed, checked his watch again, and then lowered to sit on the floor.

     After a minute of staring at the luggage in bewilderment, Fen moved forward to be nosy and peeked in the trunk and the duffle bag. He didn’t rummage around, just looked at was displayed in front of him and a small smile crossed his face. Obviously the weird old man loved Blake. More than Fen thought. It was clear. He went through the trouble of packing away all of Fen’s clothes with care. His more expensive clothes were hanging in the clothes bags so they wouldn’t wrinkle. And in the trunk were books, music disks, and probably more but Fen didn’t dig in to check what else could be there since it would be rude and he knew Blake would show him eventually.  

     Ten minutes later the shower turned off.

      “Can I bring my friend with us?”Blake called down from the landing.

     Friend? “You have a friend?”

     “Fuck you! Can I?”

    Fen groaned as he heaved himself off the floor and walked towards the stairs. “No!” he shouted, looking up. Blake was standing there in nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist, water dripping down his skin and hair damp. Blake was almost the same height as he was, but he was thinner. Blake was skinny, but not too much. He had a fine figure. His legs and chest especially offered a brilliant view. _Nice_ , he thought, mouth going dry again. _Very nice._ “I find that an extremely stupid question!”

     “You’re stupid!” Blake shouted back and spun away, walking to his bedroom. Fen followed after slowly, though he didn’t get in. The door was slammed in his face. He was absolutely certain a flirty smirk was tossed at him before the barrier had been closed. Five seconds later, the door opened again. Blake stepped out with an embarrassed expression and rounded Fen to go downstairs where all his clothes were packed away.

     Fen laughed at him. When he got to the bottom, it was to find Blake kneeling in front of his luggage, biting his lip. He turned to Fen. “Does the ship have dry cleaning?”

     Fen started blankly back at him. Blake groaned and scooted forward, rummaging through his duffle bag. Fen stared at the bag and watched Blake pull out clothes. He had to do that instead of doing what he really wanted to do, which was to look at Blake’s legs and the curve of his back, the pretty knobs of his spine and the swell of what he considered a fine backside.

       “Are you staring at my ass?”

       Fen’s gaze snapped up to find Blake looking over his shoulder at him, an auburn brow raised. “I was looking at the water you’re draining on the floor.”

       Blake stood with his pair of black skinny jeans and a slim dark blue sweater folded in his arms. Fen noticed there were no underpants. His mouth was suddenly full of drool now. Blake wasn’t going to go walking around in those skinny jeans with nothing underneath… was he? He inwardly moaned as Blake walked away. The boy didn’t say anything else and went up to his room. Closing the door softly behind him.

     Fen went up after him and leaned against the wall in the hall. He wanted to stick as close to possible. Maybe it was because he was worried about how Blake was really taking the fact his guardian had up and left him. And because of the way Blake had been about to leave him, he might be feeling so guilty right now. It was all a clash of emotions that Fen didn’t think Blake knew how to deal with.

       The door opened several minutes later. Blake stepped out wearing his clothes, but without shoes on, and stared at Fen imploringly. “No,” he said at once.

     “Why not?” Blake demanded and turned back into his room. He turned to watch Fen pause in the doorway and look around. It was also mostly empty... “She won’t take up any space.”

     “No.”

     Blake glared and pointed across the room towards his empty dresser. “I’m not leaving unless you let me take her with me.”

     Fen turned to where he was pointing and blinked. He hadn’t noticed before, but there was a terrarium set up there. He could see a pretty red gold snake coiled up on branch. “A snake is your friend?”

     Blake nodded and walked over to the tank, peering at the reptile. “I’ve had her for six years. Found her when she was a baby. She’s a pre-teen,” he announced proudly, grinning at the snake.

     “You poor poor boy.” Blake laughed. “You never told me you had a snake.”

     “You never told me you were an alien.”

     “Touché.”

     “Can she come or not?”

     Fen walked over and peered into the tank. “Yeah, sure. She’ll be alright in the ship.”

     “I have a large supply of big mice for her. I always buy in bundles and store them in the freezer.”

      Fen’s lips quirked as he opened the door and reached in without pause to take out the water dish. The snake’s head rose and flicked a forked tongue out at him. “She’s pretty,” he murmured as he dumped the water right there onto the carpet before returning the empty bowl back into the tank. “What’s her name?” he asked as he gathered the tank in his arms and turned to the boy who was frowning at the wet patch on his carpet.

     “Sheba,” he answered.

      “I like it. Go get the mice and I’ll start loading your stuff into the truck.”

       Blake nodded and left the room and Fen followed slowly after, carrying Sheba the snake and the habitat with him. He wondered if he should tell Blake his snake was a boy.

* * *

 

Fen slumped into his seat, feeling like a mountain of tension had been released. The moment the engine was finished, the moment Blake said he’d go with him... Fen hadn’t felt this right in years. As Blake gingerly sat down in the chair beside him, eyes wide and looking in fascination at all the dials and knobs- it’s a fucking space ship, man!- Fen grabbed the old braided leather bracelet he wore and pulled it off, pressing a button on the back of the unassuming blue ornament as he did so and then tossed it aside.

     “Holy Fuck!”

     Fen jerked from the noise and glared at the boy next to him, who was staring back with wide eyes.

     “What?”

     “Dude!” Blake yelled, pointing at his face.

     Fen leaned over and scooped the bracelet off the floor and held it out to him. “Hold the amulet in front of you and push the button on the back.”

     Blake grabbed it and started studying the thing, twisting it around wth his fingers before doing what Fen said. He held his breath when he pushed the button and a light emitted from the blue ornament. A straight horizontal light that went from the top of Blake’s head and traveled the length of his body.          

     “Now put it on and push the button again.” Blake did this as well. “Look at your face.”

     “What makes you think I carry a mirror around with me?”

     Fen turned to him with a raised brow. Blake huffed and dug a hand into his pocket to withdraw a compact mirror. He snapped it open and nearly dropped it. Staring back at him was a boy around the age of awkward. He’d reverted back to the age of fourteen. In fact he remembered that particular cluster of pimples. The pimples of doom. “Oh god, make it stop,” he moaned, mortified when his voice cracked with puberty.

      Fen laughed. “That look on your face is priceless.” He reached over, pushing the button as he pulled the bracelet from around Blake’s wrist. “It’s a holographic disguise.”

       “It was horrible!”

       “All back to normal, pretty boy.”

       Blake clutched at his chest. “Shit, that was awful.”

       Fen continued to laugh at him. When Blake got his horrified breathing under control, he turned back and glared. “So this whole time you’ve been walking around with a disguise?”

     “I only shaved a few years off. It’s still me.”

       Blake’s eyes roamed across his face. It was true. Fen still looked like himself, only more mature-hotter too. Way hotter. Everything else was the same. His voice had lowered some more as well. Also hot and Blake wasn’t exactly pleased with all this. He had problems resisting gorgeous older men. In fact, he’d never messed around with a guy around his own age. They had always been older. “Why?”

       “It suited my purpose and being recognized would have ruined my stay here… beyond it already being ruined by the freaking Earthen human race. Bunch of infants.”

       “Who would recognize you if you’re an alien?”

       “The pirates did,” Fen murmured lowly. “Besides, you’re not stupid, Blake. And my race isn’t young like yours. We’ve been traveling the universe for thousands of years. I’m not the only one to come here, even if I didn’t mean to. And… your guardian recognized me in a way. Really, what are the chances of that happening?”

     Blake sat back and thought about it. He’d never really considered life beyond earth, except that he thought the idea of no life beyond was stupid. How could that be true? Maybe it’s because he’d always had an open mind. Or maybe something just subconsciously told him they weren’t alone. Because he _knew_. He wasn’t as freaked out by all this like he knew others would have been. So it was safe to assume Fen was telling the truth and he wasn’t the only alien roaming around on earth. Creepy, crazy, awesome thought!

   “Um… you do know how to fly this thing right?” Fen looked over and glared. Blake laughed and held up his hands. “Only checking.”

     Blake sat back and watched Fen preparing for takeoff. Checking dials, flipping switches, and watching a transparent screen with unintelligible writing and graphs on it. “Aren’t you worried about being seen?”

       “We won’t be seen. I wasn’t seen coming in. So we won’t be seen leaving. Like I said; infants. Your space exploration; your satellites and monitoring systems are still in the early stages. There is so much you miss still. And our technology is far more advanced. They’d probably kill for this ship.”

     “Yeah they would,” Blake muttered in disgust.

     Fen nodded and stood before crossing the short aisle between their seats to stand in front of him. Blake didn’t say anything and only watched as his friend leaned over him to grab the straps hanging over the back of his chair. “It’ll be alright, Blake. We’re going to have fun, you and me. Trust me?”

       Blake released a breath, feeling some of the tension in his shoulders release. “Yeah,” he replied, grinning. Fen nodded and pulled the straps over Blake’s shoulders, crossing them in over his chest and restraining them in the slots at the side of the chair. Blake pulled on them, testing the tension. He was very well strapped in his seat.

     “It’s really only for take offs, landings, and hyper drive thrusts. Or if I have to do some pretty flying, like running from fucking pirates or... others. Otherwise you’re free to move about. My ship maintains gravity while in space.”

       Blake nodded again. He was nervous, kind of scared- he was about to fly into space!- but he trusted him. Fen smiled and tussled his hair. As he turned away, Blake bit his lip. To him it had felt less like a friendly tussle and more like caressing. Maybe he was projecting. He took a few deep breaths, tried to keep from blushing at these thoughts, and concentrated on what Fen was doing.

     Fen had retaken his seat and pressed forward, messing with a round dial. Static came through the control room. It was low and sporadic and every time Fen turned the dial, the tone of the static would change. “What are you doing?”

       “This is how I send out messages. It’s arcane, but it’ll keep off your people’s radars. Without this my parents would have assumed I was dead…”

     “So all the messages you’ve sent have been to your parents?” Blake asked when Fen sat back and the static went quiet.

       “No. Not to them.” Fen cringed and he pulled his own straps over his shoulders. “I haven’t talked to my parents since I left. My mother is going to kill me.”

        Before Blake could press further, the deck was filled with that static noise again. It came in a high pitch tone, and the silence between intervals was nearly obsolete. The only way Blake could describe it was that it was like someone talking. And talking nonstop. Fen burst out laughing. “She’s mad. She’s mad and excited. That’s never a good combination.”

     “The hot alien chick?” Blake asked. Fen nodded as he leaned forward to reply. Blake kept his face straight instead of glaring at the dial like he wanted.

     Finally Fen was finished with his message and sat back fully in his seat before stomping his heel on a spot slightly in front of his seat. A space in front of his feet slid open and something rose up out of the ground. Blake watched silently and realized it was the steering console, or control column according to Fen. It looked like a steering wheel to him. It wasn’t a completely round one, like the truck, but half of one, crescent in shape. A number of buttons lined each curved side.

     When Fen wrapped his hands around it and simultaneously pushed two buttons, the air in the cockpit became dense and colder. Blake held his breath as he felt the ship lift off the ground and hover. He grabbed onto the arm rests tightly. “Shit. Oh, shit. This is really happening.”

       Fen grinned and pushed another button. He then lifted one hand off the wheel and pointed to the transparent control screen. Blake looked to find an image of a large bird, a condor, hovering into view. Fen replaced his hand and pulled back on the controls and as he did the ship rose, and as it rose, the bird’s wings pumped more and rose higher.

       “Huh… so we’re the bird,” he guessed.

       Fen nodded. “To the outside world, the ship looks like a bird now.”

       Blake looked away from the bird, away from the screen and looked out of the windshield. Fen said it was the viewing port, but Blake didn’t care about the technicalities. It was a window and it would shield them from outside elements. That’s all he cared about. It was dark, had been for hours, and from where they were, Blake could already see the stars. They were shining brightly and now they seemed twice as mesmerizing. Three times as fascinating. He found himself breathing out a sigh. He couldn’t wait to be up there. “Let’s go already!”

       And then they were going. Fen tugged back on his wheel completely and they were shooting up into the sky. Blake had to clench his teeth tightly shut to keep from making any noise. They were going fast, super fast, and it was thrilling and a little scary and Fen had an insane grin on his face. And holy shit, they were actually flying towards the moon. His best friend really was an alien and he had really fixed a spaceship. And he was really leaving Earth behind, maybe forever. It was all real. This was happening.

* * *

A/N: Thank you for reading. Feedback would be lovely.


	5. Chapter 5

**Joy Ride**

 

**Chapter Five**

**Part Two**

 

 As soon as they passed the Earth’s atmosphere and space became clear as day, Fen turned to a wide eyed Blake. “Want to see the planet before we really take off?”

       Without taking his eyes off the stars, Blake nodded briskly. Fen scooted forward and started tapping at the transparent screen. Blake didn’t really pay attention until he saw the image of a floating piece of debris. A broken satellite and he assumed that was the ship’s new disguise. Fen then sat back and maneuvered the ship until they were looking back the way they’d come. Blake sucked in a breath when Earth came into view. It was huge and hulking and beautiful. A lot of blue sporadically broken up by greens and browns. And the white of clouds. The southern hemisphere was right in front of him and he could see a hurricane brewing. It was an awesome display.

    He turned to find Fen studying him, his expression closed off. Though Blake could see the tension around his eyes and in his shoulders. “I’m not going to change my mind.”

    Fen turned to stare out of the viewing port and nodded, tension immediately draining. “In two days we’ll be out of your solar system, at which point I can engage the hyper drives. Can’t do it this close to Earth, otherwise they’ll notice that. There’s no way to camouflage the initial hyperdrive thrust.”

     Blake snickered. “You make it sound so dirty.”

     “The phrase or just my voice?”

    Blake cleared his throat and turned back to the vision of Earth hovering before them. “Anyway…”

     Fen grinned in amusement. Teasing Blake was fantastic fun. He turned back to the planet before them. “Do you think you’ll miss anything?”

     “The garage,” Blake answered immediately. “Diaeran,” he murmured lowly, still hurt by the way his guardian had just left, never mind that he was about to do the same. Then his eyes widened, he unstrapped himself, and was pressing his hands against the viewing port in seconds. “My shops! The shops where I spend all my money!”

     If Fen hadn’t been strapped in his seat, he would have slipped out of it laughing his backside off.

     Blake rounded on him. “It’s not funny! I’m penniless too! I didn’t think this through, Fen!”

     Fen snickered before he got himself under control. “You’ll be fine. I’m not exactly without wealth. And it’s not like my people walk around naked. We have shops… actually my little sister is going to love you. She’s into fashion.”

     Blake was thinking Fen walking around naked would be an improvement. He tried to push away the image of Fen with his pants dropped. Even flaccid, his dick had been a thing of beauty. That’s the type of pain in the ass he craved. He threw himself back into his seat, keeping his eyes solely on the planet in front of them. He could feel Fen staring at him and he didn’t want his friend to figure out what he was thinking, or even to figure out what he wanted. That crush… that crush wasn’t so easy to forget after all. It seemed to be getting worse.

     The ship began moving, Earth slowly moving out of sight as Fen maneuvered the ship away. “One day I’ll bring you back… for a _visit_ ,” Fen said this last part firmly, which had Blake grinning.

     An hour later Fen engaged the autopilot. He disengaged his restraints and twisted around in his chair, throwing one long leg over the arm rest and planting his elbow on the one he was leaning against, dropping his chin to his balled up hand. He smiled watching Blake, who was out of his seat and plastered against the viewing port again. They were nearly on Saturn, would be passing her in fifteen minutes, though they were moving too fast to see anything clearly. He’d programmed the ship to slow down upon Saturn approach so that Blake could see.

     Blake turned to face him. “It’s really… unbelievable. The speed we’re moving... It takes _years_ to get to Saturn!”

       Fen shrugged. “If you think this is fast, wait until the hyperdrive _thrust_.”

       “Quit it.” Blake glared when Fen laughed, trying to cover up his embarrassment, though the slight blush was giving him away. He slumped into his seat. “So what are we doing? The schedule?”

       “We have to make one stop before going home. A space port just inside the border of the space alliance…” Fen trailed off and eyed him. “I’ll have to dress you up. You can’t go in there looking… cute. That’s just asking for trouble. It’s kind of rough on the outskirts.”

       Blake only nodded. Fen was in charge now. He would know better. “So you want me to dress up rough?”

       Fen grinned sharply. “Something like that. Don’t worry. I’ve seen your clothes. I know you have something appropriate.”

     “Why’re we going to this space post?”

     “Getting supplies and picking someone up.”

     “Your alien chick?”

     Fen nodded. “Can’t go home without her.”

       Well that was an effective way of dampening Blake’s excitement. The hot alien chick was travelling with them. Go figure. Blake turned and watched the stars speed by. Eventually he had to look away because trying to focus on the streams of stars passing started to hurt. He stood suddenly. “I’m going to check on Sheba.”

       He left the flight deck, paying no attention to Fen’s response. Sheba was being kept in the Green room. Or at least that’s what Blake was calling it, where all the hydroponics was being grown. And it was the only space aside from the engine room that was continuously warm. Fen had said space flight was naturally cold and heating the entire ship would be power consuming. Blake didn’t mind, as long as it wasn’t too cold, and the Green room was the perfect place to keep a reptile. It was warm and humid, and had plenty of natural oxygen.

     “Hey, love. You alright?” he asked softly, opening the terrarium door. As soon as he stuck his hand inside, she slithered off her perch and onto his hand.

     Blake turned and headed for one of the chairs situated around the room. He laughed quietly as he lowered into one. These chairs were a lot like the gaming chairs he’d seen back home. No legs. Low to the ground. Nice back curve. Perfect for sitting in front of the TV playing a video game. Several of these were spread around the room amongst the growing plants.

     “I’m being stupid, already,” he whispered to Sheba as she slithered over and between his fingers. “I don’t want to ruin this. It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

     He slumped back, relaxing and looking around. Everywhere he looked there was something growing. Some plants were just there to be there, while others were food. Vegetables and fruits. There were also other plants that made him wary and curious. One cluster of plants was brightly colored. Pink, purple, and neon blue in color. The plant looked like a mixture of a Venus flytrap and a plant called Angel Trumpet. Blake was willing to bet it was as dangerous as he thought it was and wondered why Fen had it growing in his ship.

       “He makes it so difficult,” Blake went on as Sheba moved on from his hand to his chest. “I’ve never had this much of a problem ignoring an attraction. Why is now so hard? I mean he’s straight, right? It shouldn’t be this hard!”

     “Blake, come back to the deck. Saturn is waiting for you.”

     Blake shot to his feet in surprise and panic, only to breathe out in relief when he realized it was the ship’s communication system. It was then he noticed the ship had slowed. Blake looked at his shoulder where Sheba was currently burrowing her way underneath his sweater. He figured she’d be fine there and out of the Green room for a little bit, so he turned and headed out back to the flight deck. Cupping a hand over her as he ran to keep the snake from falling.

     He burst out onto the deck and went straight for the window. Fen was right. Saturn was waiting for him. It was there in front of him, larger than life. And the rings. The beautiful rings made up of nothing but water ice and small rock particles. It was terribly beautiful. Blake was afraid he’d start balling his eyes out in front of Fen. “D-did you know Saturn is the Roman God of Agriculture? And… and it’s the English word for ‘Saturday’,” he said, just to say something because if he remained quiet, he probably would start crying. This was an incredible experience. How many people could say they’d seen this? And so close too. How many Earthlings anyway? He was being given an incredible gift.

     Fen remained quiet. He was more interested in watching Blake than looking at the planet. If Blake was having this reaction to Saturn, Fen couldn’t wait until Blake saw his home system.

 

* * *

 

Fen leaned forward, passing a hand over his control screen, studying his navigation charts. It had been two days since they left Earth and it was about time to jump into hyper space. He started glaring at the current chart he was looking at.

     “Something wrong?”

     Fen turned to look over his shoulder to find a tussled haired Blake standing at his side. He must have just woken up. He was still in his pajama bottoms and had thrown on a black hooded sweater. He also had Sheba cradled against his chest. He was adorable and sexy all mixed together with those sleepy hazel eyes blinking lazily at him.

     “Nothing’s really wrong,” Fen began, dragging his eyes back to the nav charts. “Just a pain. I have to make a new flight path otherwise we’d go right through a meteorite storm, and we don’t want to do that in hyper space. Not a big deal. It’ll only take me a few minutes.”

     Blake made a noncommittal sound and turned to sit down, pulling his legs up and tucking them underneath him. He dropped his cheek against the chair and watched Fen work. Fen felt his eyes on him, and when he looked, Blake gave him a sleepy smile. Fen turned back to his charts and cleared his throat. He shifted in his seat, wincing. He was falling. Falling, falling…

    “You should put Sheba back in her tank for the push.”

     “K.”

     Fen waited for Blake to return and to put his belts on before engaging the hyper drive. “Sit back, close your eyes, and take deep breaths. Do this for a couple of minutes before opening your eyes again,” he instructed as the engines revved up.

     Blake nodded and tried to relax back, closing his eyes and breathing deeply. An audible snap filled their ears when the hyper drives were fully engaged, and Fen watched as the stars distended into long never ending streaks of light. He took a long deep breath himself. It had been two years after all, and even though the inside of the ship dampened the feel and effects of hyper space, he could still feel it to a slight degree. Like vertigo. If one weren’t used to it, that vertigo could be a thousand times worse, to the point of it feeling like a nightmare.

     Thinking this, Fen looked over and cursed seeing Blake’s eyes still shut tightly and the boy was breathing quickly and heavily, not normal breaths. He was panicking. His face was white like death and a whimper tore passed his lips as his body was wracked with shudders. “Blake!”

     He scrambled out of his seat in panic and launched at his friend, quickly undoing his restraints. He grabbed Blake’s arms, cursed again when Blake groaned and jerked him out of his seat before dragging him away from the flight deck. In the corridor, he pressed Blake against the wall and leaned against him, wrapping his arms around him. Blake dropped his forehead against Fen’s collar, wrapped a shaking arm around his waist, and pulled in deep gulps of air.

     “I don’t know what happened,” Blake whispered when he was sure he could talk without screaming.

     “It’s fine. You’re not the only one who gets sick during the initial thrust. My first time out, I reacted in the same way. Threw up all over Zarth’s control panel. It’s something you have to get used to. Hyper space can be disturbing at first. Sorry, I should have warned you.”

       Blake snorted and turned his head slightly, planting his cheek where his forehead had been. He kind of wanted to burrow into Fen’s chest. He was warm and solid, and the arms holding him were nice. It felt nice. Beyond nice. He’d never had anyone hold onto him like this before.

       “You good now?” Fen asked after a bit and Blake nearly said no just so Fen would continue to hug him. When did he become so pathetic?

       “Yeah, I’m good. Thanks.” He straightened up and pulled away from the wall when Fen stepped back.

       “Good.” Fen grinned, stepped to the side, and slapped Blake’s ass. “Now go to the canteen and make us something to eat.”

       Fen was still laughing when Blake stepped into the canteen, grumbling under his breath.

 

* * *

 

Fen stepped into the engine room and paused just inside. His mouth quirked a little. Blake was walking around, petting and talking to the engine. He was back in his mechanics jumpsuit, mostly grease free, but not completely so it was clear he’d been doing some more maintenance. Blake’s music was once again blasting through the air.

       “Hey!” Blake turned around and smiled at him. He turned the music off before walking over to him. “We’re approaching alliance space.” Blake’s eyes widened slightly in excitement, which in turn had Fen grinning. “Yeah. We’ll be docking in two hours.”

         “Sweet!”

         “I thought we should go and decide what you’re going to wear. I can’t stress how important it is that you come off _not cute_. Anything but cute.”

         Blake snorted. “What about leather?”

         Fen inwardly groaned. That would be perfect and yet not. He could imagine well what Blake would look like in leather. “Yeah,” he muttered, turning away. Blake fell into step beside him.

       “The battery on my music player is about to die,” Blake said morosely as they descended into the ship proper. “Once that happens…”

       “No worries,” Fen said as they stopped outside of Blake’s room. “I took your player a few days ago and downloaded the music to the ship. The technology isn’t compatible to recharge your device, but I was able to transfer your files. I’ll get you a tone pad at the space port and you can download the music from the ship to the pad. We can do that with your music disks as well.”

       Blake turned to him, eyes wide and a little worshiping. That look made Fen feel like a giant. He rubbed the back of his neck, hoping to hide the blush he knew to be there. He shrugged. “No big deal, Blake.”

       “Are you serious? You are my god!”

       “Yeah. Uh… yeah.” Fen turned and strode down the walkway. He heard Blake talking to himself as he went into his room and smiled, despite the fast beating of his heart. Blake loved music. It was like his ambrosia.

       Blake took some time to clean up and choose what he thought would be good to wear. He was choosing now, but he had no problems with changing if Fen thought he should since Fen would know what was best to make him not stick out like a sore Earth thumb. By the time he walked onto the deck, Fen was in the process of announcing their approach to the Mezintine space port. In the near distance he could see the port. It was larger than he imagined, with many structures and streets, all under domes with dome tunnels that he assumed were walk spaces. He could also see a plethora of other ships hovering around. He hadn’t realized he’d taken so long with showering and picking his clothes.

       After a while he pulled his eyes away from the space port when he noticed the flight deck was completely silent. Turning he found Fen staring at him with wide eyes. “What?”

       “Your clothes,” Fen croaked, pointing at him.

       “What? Is it not good? You can choose then if it’s not any good. I might not even have anything…”

       “No, you’re good,” Fen quickly said, standing. “That’s good. Perfect actually.”

       Fen willed his breathing to go back to normal as he circled Blake, taking in every little detail and contour. Blake was wearing a black leather trench coat that ended just below his knees. Under that was a rust colored shirt- it was plastered to his chest, by the way. From there Fen eyed the leather trousers. They were snug around the thighs, and no doubt his backside, but they were a bit loose fitting below the knees. On his feet he wore black zip up boots which had a bit of heel on them. At least two inches. Fucking sexy boots that accented his legs perfectly.

       “Are you sure? I can change.”

       “Shut up,” he said roughly. He was saved from having to apologize by a voice coming over the radio, telling them they had permission to land and to head to docking bay twenty.

       “I can understand her,” Blake murmured.

       “The ship is translating for you. On port I’ll get you a microtranslator as well. You’re gonna need it.”

         “Also sweet!”

         Tension erased, the two grinned at each other. Fen sat back down and prepared to dock and Blake took his seat, watching eagerly. Since they weren’t entering a planet’s atmosphere, the restraint belts weren’t needed. They would glide into port.

       Blake looked at Fen from the corner of his eye, grinning a little. They almost matched, clothes wise. At least they were wearing similar jackets. Only Fen’s was a hide color which dropped down to his ankles. Actually Fen kind of looked like he stepped out of an Old West film. Blake _loved_ cowboys. And Fen hadn’t shaved in two days so a heavy shadow covered his jaw and top lip. Blake licked his lips and turned away. Shit.

       By the time they were docked with a dozen other crafts, Blake was sitting on the edge of his seat with his eyes wide opened, staring out at the other ships. “I’m geeking out, Fen.”

         Fen snorted as he stood. He disappeared behind and Blake heard him rummaging around in his room. And then he was beside Blake and gently grabbed his elbow, pulling him to his feet. “Stick close to me.”

     “Is it really that dangerous?”

     “It is for those who clearly look like targets. Those who look like they can be easy pushovers. This is the outskirts of the alliance, which means less authority monitoring every little thing. Just… Just don’t act like a tourist. If you act like you always do, especially when you were at school, you’ll be fine.”

     Fen dropped his elbow, took up his wrist, and led him off the flight deck and down the stairs right outside. The ramp was already lowering by the time they got there. When it was lowered all the way, Fen released his wrist and looked at him. “Ready?”

   “I’m so ready.”

   Walking down the ramp, Blake kept himself facing straight, though he let his eyes wander around, studying the other ships docked nearby and the people coming and going. The ships were around the same size as Fen’s, though he’d seen on approach there were larger and smaller spaceships around. Soon they were through the docking bay and Blake found himself standing to the side of a large paved road. Buildings surrounded him on all sides. He picked up his feet and walked beside Fen as his friend led him down the road.

     Fen inhaled a long breath and Blake looked at him with a raised brow. “There’s nothing like the smell of stale air in a space port.”

       Blake grinned. “It’s kind of ripe.”

       Fen nodded rapidly, obviously happy about it. Blake shook his in amusement. Clearly Fen was ecstatic to be back. Blake turned away from him, studying the people walking by or lingering outside of the shops more closely. He figured he was able to keep his indifferent expression without problem because no one around actually looked like an alien. Everyone was human. Or at least they _looked_ human. And the clothing wasn’t something he’d never seen before. Leathers and hides were popular hear. Boots and waistcoats and vests and freaking cowboy hats. He did eye the new weapons with eagerness. Now there was something he’d never seen before. A thought struck him and he reached out, brushing Fen’s coat aside from his waist. He raised a brow seeing a gun of some kind holstered there.

     He looked at Fen’s face in surprise.

     Fen rolled his eyes. “I’m not about to walk around here defenseless. Especially not now.”

     “Laser or bullets?”

     “Neither. It’s a new plasma technology which uses a hydroaccelerator to triple power output and give a continuous bolt once the trigger is pulled.”

     “Oh, of course,” Blake muttered. “Plasma bolts.”

     Fen laughed lowly at his dry tone and tapped him on the shoulder, gesturing to the building they were approaching on the right. Blake just barely managed to keep his jaw from dropping. “I’m sorry. Did we travel trough time as well? Is your ship actually a TARDIS?” he asked because he was looking at a three story building that seemed to be made of wood. It looked old and dusty and a painted sign hung over authentic saloon doors. He asked Fen what the sign said.

     “Mezintine Saloon and Inn.”

     “Right,” he muttered to himself. Well now he knew why Fen was dressed the way he was.

     “For clarification,” Fen said lowly as they approached the swinging doors. “You are not the only Earthen human to have left your planet. Since your race’s conception, there have been others. You’ll see some of that around in certain sectors. The influences. Makes you feel right at home, yeah?” he asked with a grin.

     “Centuries behind, smart ass.”

     They walked in and Blake blinked a little, his eyes quickly adjusting to the dim lighting. Tables were spread all throughout; the place was busy. People everywhere. They were thrown calculating looks, but no one made a move beyond that and soon his and Fen’s presence was dismissed for the most part. “So your alien chick’s in here?”

     “Yeah. Somewhere…. Want a drink?”

     Blake nodded. Despite his outward appearance, he was a bundle of excited nerves. None of that had to do with the alien chick- since he was still unhappy about her. He was just excited to be on an actual space port. Floating in space millions of light years away from Earth.

     Fen led him over to an empty table. Blake noticed he chose one against the wall and near the bar and he’d done this on purpose. It was strategic placing. “Sit here and I’ll go get us something. Don’t wander off,” he warned firmly.

     Since Blake could tell Fen was worried about his well being, all he did was nod instead of pointing out he wasn’t a baby. Blake leaned back and crossed his legs, throwing an arm over the chair next to him and watched Fen walk to the bar. After a moment, Blake let his attention wander, though he didn’t linger long on any one person. He didn’t want them getting the wrong idea. Males and females. Some of them staring back at him, and he could see the interest in some of their eyes.

       By the time he turned back to Fen, it was to find his friend conversing with a short blond man… or rather boy. He looked younger than Blake anyway and he was severely underdressed. His clothing was… well, Blake didn’t want to sound like a snob, but this boy was dressed like a hooker and this had him narrowing his eyes.

     Blake grabbed the back of the chair to try and keep from doing something unnecessary, but the other boy was getting closer and closer to Fen with each passing second. Fen seemed oblivious, but for someone who had used those exact moves before, Blake knew exactly what the other guy was doing and what he wanted. Fen wasn’t exactly discouraging; smiling and talking and laughing like that. He was too nice sometimes. Add to the fact that he was excited to be back in space again. So Blake would forgive him this time.

     He told himself to stay where he was, eventually Fen would get the drinks and come back. So he would stay right where he was and not give in to his jealousy. But when the blond tart placed a hand on Fen’s chest, Blake snapped. He shot to his feet and started across the room. He was held up just once, by a scruffy looking spacer. The guy sidled up to him with a drunken smile. Blake gave him a blank stare and swept past him. The blond was now basically plastered against Fen, and oh _now_ the idiot looked surprised, as if just realizing what was happening. And even though he realized, he still didn’t look interested. This made Blake happy, but he still wasn’t happy to see the blond continue on.

       Blake sauntered up, coming from behind the blond. He met Fen’s eyes for one second and Fen stared back at him with wide eyes, as if he’d been caught, which was actually kind of funny. Blake spun a 180 on his heels beside Fen and slid himself like butter in between him and the blond. There had been so little room that now his back was plastered completely against Fen’s front. He raised a brow at the surprised blond.

     “Do you mind?” he asked lowly, not caring that the boy may not even understand him. He remained blank faced even when he felt Fen’s hips shift and press further against his back. He could have sworn he felt the swipe of fingers against his hips but it lasted only a second so he figured he was imagining things.

     The blond took one look at Blake’s face, the flat warning look in his hazel eyes, and sputtered out what Blake assumed was an apology before fleeing.

     “That’s what I thought,” he said as he turned to Fen, who looked supremely amused. “What the fuck is so funny? I thought you were getting drinks. How long were you planning on making me sit there alone?”

     “What was that, Blake?”

     Blake feigned ignorance. He turned and walked away. When he got back to the table and sat down, it was to find Fen staring after him. No longer amused but with an intense expression on his face. Blake turned away first, eyes scanning over the place. He couldn’t believe the space port bar was actually a saloon. An honest to god saloon. In space! Full of actual space cowboys! Though to be honest, the only one good looking enough for his attention was Fen, and himself, though he was quite clearly ignoring the attention he was getting.

     “Now that was entertaining!”

     Blake’s attention snapped back to his own table to find a pretty young woman sliding into a seat across from him. Her speaking English surprised him more than her sliding in opposite him did. She looked vaguely familiar. She had light brown hair tossed and secured at the top of her head and her eyes were a pale blue, nearly the same as Fen’s. She had on tight dark red trousers and a black sleeveless vest. He didn’t get a look at her footwear. But he did notice she was wearing a plasma bolt thingy as well.

     “I’ve never seen a claim made clearer around here. You were so slick and smooth.”

     “Um…what?”

     “What you just did over there!” She jerked her thumb over her shoulder to where Fen was still standing.

     “Claim?”

     “That was a claim if ever I saw one. Hands off my property! I read the message loud and clear and so did everyone else here.”

     Finally understanding what she was getting at, Blake started to shake his head rapidly.”Oh, no. No, we’re only friends.”

     “If that’s true than he’s an idiot. An utter ignoramus. Not worth your time or mine. Only good enough to grind under our boots like the mud he resembles.”

     Blake frowned. “Wait a minute…”

     The girl grinned. “I’m allowed to say such things about him.”

     “The hell you are!”

     She continued to laugh, pissing Blake off more. “I like you, Earthling.”

     So she pegged him from Earth, who cared! He wasn’t going to sit there and allow her to bad mouth his best friend. Blake was just about to give her a piece of his mind when two glasses were set on the table. He looked to find Fen looming over them. Fen studied him, noticing the anger in his eyes. He turned to the girl with a raised brow, though the corner of his mouth was quirked. The girl looked nothing but amused, her eyes lit up in excitement.

     “You just met him and already you’ve pissed him off? That’s a record, Zari.”

     “I don’t think he likes people badmouthing you.”

     And then they were both laughing and the girl climbed onto her seat before launching herself into Fen’s arms, and Fen was embracing her just as tightly and they both seemed supremely happy to see each other. Blake shut down with realization. This was the hot alien chick. He sat back and ignored the both of them. He grabbed one of the glasses which had something dark purple in it. Sniffing it, he deemed it smelled okay, so he knocked back a large amount.

       The next second saw his eyes widened. He turned to the side and spat at the burning liquid before commencing with coughing up a lung. He vaguely felt someone sit beside him, pressing very close and running a hand soothingly against his back in circles. He couldn’t see who it was as his eyes were currently filled with tears of pain. He wheezed for another while more before he could get his breathing back to normal.

         “Blake, you weren’t supposed to drink that one,” Fen murmured into his ear.

         “How was I supposed to know that?” he rasped back.

         “You alright?”

         Blake moaned. His throat felt like it was literally on fire. “In a minute.”

         His eyes cleared enough to allow him to see Fen and the woman share a smile. Fen leaned forward and plucked the glass of purple acid off the table and downed the contents in three seconds. He groaned in appreciated and practically melted against the back rest. “Damn, I’ve missed that.”

     Fen still had an arm around Blake’s back and lifted his hand to rub Blake’s shoulder while he looked at the woman across from them. “Earth liquor is… weak.”

     Blake balked.

     “Fen,” the girl started sweetly and Fen cringed.

     “Hold on, Zari. Let me swallow another one. To prepare. By then my ear drums should be numb and then you can yell whatever you want.”

     “IT’S BEEN TWO YEARS!” she shouted, drawing everyone’s attention.

     Fen cringed again. He didn’t immediately reply and instead leaned forward and grabbed the other glass. It was half full with something crystal clear. Like water. He passed it to Blake. “It’s like your vodka,” he assured. “Tamer than that. It’ll make you nice and warm.”

     Blake wanted to tell Fen that he made him warm, but he kept that thought to himself lest Fen remove his friendly arm from around his shoulders, and he accepted the drink. Blake peered at him for a moment before bringing the glass to his lips. He took a small sip and licked his lips. It was good. Went down just as smoothly as vodka and it had a mild citrus like flavor. “Nice.”

     “Thought you might like it.”

     “Thanks.”

     They shared another smile before Fen reluctantly turned back to the woman, who had been studying them eagerly. “Look, Zari-”

     “TWO YEARS, FEN! I’VE HAD MOTHER ON MY BACK ABOUT YOU FOR TWO YEARS!”

     Blake grinned and continued to sip his drink while Fen cringed yet again beside him. He was grinning because he figured it out. They looked familiar and they had nearly identical eyes. They were siblings. The hot alien chick whom they’d come to pick up was Fen’s sister. Yeah. He felt way better. And the cringing Fen was doing was funny.

     “I was marooned! I had no way to get home! If it weren’t for Blake-”

     “If you’d just called our parents for a ride!”

     “She has a point,” Blake said.

     “I would never have met you then.”

     “There is that… and point one for Fen.”

       Fen smirked at his sister.

     “It’s your stupid pride that kept you from calling home.”

     Fen huffed under his breath and slid out of the booth, glared at his sister and went back to the bar. Zari watched him and then turned back to Blake.

       “So you’re his sister?”

       “Of course. Didn’t he tell you?”

       “No. He let me go on thinking you were some hot alien chick he had a date with.”

       She raised her brow. “You were telling the truth,” she said in astonishment. “You’re only friends.”

     “Yes.”

     “I am amazed,” She muttered under her breath, though Blake heard her. “Such restraint, brother.”

     “Sorry?”

     She turned back to him and blasted a smile. Standing slightly, she leaned over the table and held out her hand. “Hello, I’m Zari.”

     Blake took her hand to shake it. “Blake.”

     “Pleasure.”

     “Ditto.”

     “By the way, I stand by what I say. That was a claim. You chased that boy off so fast and you did it on purpose.”

     “Only because Fen looked uncomfortable,” he said lowly, noticing Fen was coming back.

     Zari snorted in disbelief at him. He tried to keep from blushing at her knowing look. “Prop your feet up over here. Let me have a closer look at those boots.”

       Blake did as she asked, if only to keep her from going on about his impromptu ‘claim’, even though it was no such… yeah, okay. It was. But he didn’t want Fen to know that. As Zari studied and cooed over his boots, Fen returned to his seat beside him and passed out another round of drinks. The purple acid to Zari and himself, while Blake got a full glass of the lime stuff.

     “I wish I could fit these. I would borrow them from you. You have no idea how sexy you look walking on these.”

     “No, I know. That’s why I bought them.”

     Zari blinked at him. “We are going to get along splendidly.”

     Fen leaned against him. “Told you.”

   “Yeah,” Blake smiled at Zari as he dropped his head back, not bothering to move away when his head came in contact with Fen’s shoulder. “Where are all the aliens?”  

     “What do you mean?” Zari asked.

     Blake looked around. “All I see are humans round here. I came here expecting cool weird looking aliens.” He turned to Fen. “There are aliens like that right?”

       Fen nodded. “You’re not likely to find one around here. Like I said, this is the outskirts. One side of it anyway. This port is mostly human inhabited. Non humanoids are strictly forbidden from entering Earth’s solar system so most don’t bother coming to this sector. That’ll change when Earth becomes aware of life beyond and the Alliance drops the restrictions. ”

       Blake looked in at the liquid in his glass. “Huh.” He then tossed his drink back. It was really good. And he said so to Fen, who grinned back at him.

       “AHEM!”

       Fen pulled his eyes away from Blake and turned to his sister. “Hurry and finish your drink. I want to get the supplies, buy Blake a tone pad and a microtranslator, and then we’re leaving. I can’t believe you’ve been staying here! Does Mother know?”

       “Oh please. Do you think I’m mentally impaired? Of course she doesn’t. And if she ever finds out, I’ll blame it on you! Tell her it was your idea.”

       “You will not.”

       Blake rose a brow at the low dangerous tone, but otherwise didn’t move and was just happy to sit there and listen. Clearly they were both scared of their mommy. This thought had him laughing to himself. They looked at him. “Sorry.”

      “Where’s your luggage?” Fen asked Zari.

       “It’s already at the ship yard. All we have to do is grab it on the way to the ship. Didn’t think you’d want to lug it across the port before we actually leave. And,” she smiled haughtily, “I’ve also taken the liberty of ordering supplies. That should also be at the ship yard by now. So all we need to do is get Blake’s tone pad and translator.”

       “That’s thoughtful.”

     “I only did it because I knew you were bringing a guest. Don’t think I’ll be this thoughtful ever again.”

       Fen snorted.

       Soon the drinks were gone and they made their way out of the saloon. Zari latched onto Blake’s arm the moment they were outside and as they went around, she never once let him go. In fact she was more interested in talking to Blake then reacquainting with her brother. “I’m so glad Fen brought me a gift!” she exclaimed, happily hugging Blake’s arm, who smiled in amusement.

     “I’m the one that’s been gone for two years,” Fen grumbled.

     Zari frowned at him. “You brought this gorgeous Earthling and you expect me to pay attention to you? Ha!”

     Blake grinned. He liked Zari. She turned to him, saw his smile and sighed before running her fingers through his hair. “It’s such a shame females don’t turn your head. We would be glorious together.”

     Fen glared and reached over to pull her fingers away. “Leave him alone. He doesn’t like people.”

     “She’s alright, Fen.”

     Zari leaned back and stuck her tongue out at her brother. Fen’s petulant look was amusing.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Fen tapped his fingers against his arm rests and glared over at the empty seat. It had been empty since leaving the space port. No Blake. No wide eyed stare of excitement as they zoomed through space, no intelligent questions. No crude bantering. Nothing. Why? Because Zari was a hog and dragged Blake away the moment they left. It annoyed him. She couldn’t keep Blake to herself. Blake was his first. His, period.

     He turned back to the viewing port. At least they got along. Blake liked his sister, which was nice. It took a lot to gain Blake’s friendship, his affection. He was naturally guarded against people. A safety mechanism to keep from being hurt, add to the fact that the only family, the only one close to him was his guardian. And in general, he really didn’t like people. No one had really given Blake a reason to feel otherwise and Fen wanted to change that.

       He liked the way Blake handled himself at the space port. He’d walked around with wide eyes, sure. But he’d also seemed indifferent to everything, which had been the exact way Fen needed him to act. Fen had been worried at first by all the attention Blake was gaining, but the aura Blake gave off was ‘you can look, but you will be hurt should you touch’. No one, as far as he had seen, made an attempt to approach Blake.

       Fed up, Fen stomped his way to Blake’s room. Pausing in the doorway, he took in the scene of Blake lying on his bunk stretched out on his stomach, his torso held up by his elbows as he played with his new tone pad. His feet were bare, boots kicked off the moment they returned to the ship, and his jacket tossed over the chair. He had a contented smile on his face as he taught himself the new technology of the tone pad. Zari was across the room holding up a sweater and a pair of pants in front of her. She had Blake’s boots on too.

     “You do know these clothes are for boys, right?” Blake said to her without looking.

     “Technicalities, Earthling.” She turned towards the door. “What do you think, Fen? Would I look good in this?”

       Fen dragged his eyes off the lounging body on the bed. “Hmm?” he faced Zari, who was smirking at him.

       “Look good? In this?”

       “No.”

       “Cretin.” She turned away and carefully placed the clothes back where she’d gotten them. She then crouched down to where Blake had shoved the lock box. It looked like he had tried to push it away, hide it in the shadows of his dresser. It was exactly what he tried to do. “What’s this?”

       “Lock box.”

       “What’s in it?”

       “Don’t know yet. Guardian left it for me before he took off.”

       “Don’t you want to open it and see?”

       “I don’t have the key.”

       “We can easily open it, Earthling.”

       “No.” Blake shifted uneasily on his stomach and frowned. He looked entirely engrossed with his tone pad, but Fen could see his body strung with tension.

       Fen stepped in and crossed the room before sitting on the edge of the bed. He stared at the box. He knew why Blake didn’t want to open it. He was afraid of whatever he might find. It was a rather large box, so even if Diaeran had left him money in there, it wouldn’t have taken up all that space. And anything of value Blake possessed had been packed in the travel trunk. So it was safe to assume there might be papers in there, documents, something. Answers to questions Blake had always wondered about. Like where he had come from or why he had been left outside of a fire house. Fen also held a suspicion that something in the lock box would tell him how Blake’s guardian could know his father.

       “Just leave it for now, Zari,” he said, reaching over and pressing a hand against Blake’s tight shoulder, firmly digging his thumb into a knot he could practically see. Blake sighed and melted against the mattress, tone pad forgotten as he closed his eyes.

     Fen laughed quietly. “Poor boy. Time for a nap. You’ve had a busy day.”

     Blake snickered. “Fuck you.”

     Fen twisted around and placed his free hand over Blake’s other shoulder and commenced with turning Blake into jelly. He sensed Zari moving out of the room but he didn’t look, instead focusing on Blake’s face. Blake’s eyes opened and met his. “We’ll open it only when you’re ready.”

       Blake nodded and closed his eyes again, groaning when Fen began kneading out a particular painful knot. “Next time I want to see some people that don’t look human.”

       “Your wish is my command.”

       Blake smiled. “It’s good to be king.”

       The room went quiet and Fen continued to work out the kinks in Blake’s back until he realized Blake had really fallen asleep on him. He didn’t want to, but Fen pulled his hands away and stood up. As he walked out his eyes lingered on the lock box. He was absolutely sure the old man had put answers in there. Answers that would probably shock Blake to the core. Fen was strangely excited about it.

       When he got back to the flight deck it was to find his sister studying his nav charts. She had a smirk on her face that he didn’t trust at all. “Get out of my chair,” he murmured in their native tongue.

       She got up and danced across to the chair Blake usually sat in. She sat cross legged in it, facing her brother. “He’s wonderful, Fen. I approve with all my heart.” Fen sent her a smile. “So what are you waiting for, brother?”

       Fen frowned, turning his eyes back to the nav charts. He knew what she was referring to. “He doesn’t… I don’t want-” he growled in frustration and turned to her, at a loss.

       She frowned back. “Don’t give me that. It’s clear as day you care deeply about him.”

     “That’s not what I meant.”

     Zari was silent a moment, studying her brother. Her expression softened. “The two years have been good to you. You’ve matured.”

     “I’d like to think so.” She nodded. “I had to grow up fast after the crash and I had to be clever when I was marooned on such an infantile planet. I need to thank Father for his relentless schooling when we get home. Without that I would have been lost.”

       Zari laughed. “Let’s get back to the gorgeous Earthling.”

       “He trusts me, Zari. He trusts me implicitly.”

       “I don’t see why that would be a problem.”

       Fen figured he would need to tell his sister about Blake’s life before she could understand what he was trying to say, so he began to tell her all he knew, all he’d discovered about Blake’s life. He paused at the end and looked at her, saw she was beginning to understand. “And I don’t think in his whole life had he anybody he let close to him. I don’t even know how I managed to do it. But I’m not going to mess it up, Zari. I’m all he has now…”

       “He has me now too,” Zari announced firmly, causing Fen to smile. “Still, I partly understand, but… if you feel such a way about him, you should let him know. Your relationship will grow to something better.”

     Fen shook his head. “ I know he’s attracted to me, but that’s as far as it goes. I don’t think he cares about me like that. I know how he works. He’s not shy about what he wants when it comes to lovers and he’s never once acted like he’s really interested.”

       Zari gave him a disappointed look. “And it never once occurred to you that maybe he was afraid to mess it up? Think about all you just told me. Think about how scared he must be! He just left his home planet! Everything and everyone he knows! And has he ever really invested himself in someone, Fen? Does he know how? And it’s you! His best friend! Of course he hasn’t given you any indication. Have you given him one?”

     She made lots of good points, blast her. She knew it too, which was why she was grinning like that. “And come on!” she exclaimed. “That move he pulled in the saloon. All graceful, cold, and sexy. Chasing that boy away from you. He did it with three words, a cold look, and body language. You didn’t see that as a sign, Fen? Did Earth make you stupid?”

     Fen looked off, thinking about it. A smirk crossing his face. Now that she mentioned it… And yeah, he had wanted to bend Blake over a bar stool right then and there.

       “Are you scared?” Zari said after a time when she was tired of watching her big brother sit there and fantasize about the gorgeous Earth boy. The dazed look in his eyes was funny though.

       “A little,” he admitted.

     After that they changed topic and Fen demanded to know what she had been up to since they hadn’t been able to share that much information over their messages. Out of the siblings, he and Zari were the most wild. Needing to escape home and stretch wings. Their mother was not pleased by this. She hadn’t been pleased when Zari took off sporadically after Fen had gone on a two year vacation. And of course his mother was going to blame Zari’s leaving on him in every way.

     “Thanks though, for keeping Mom and Dad informed. I know how hard Mother must have gotten on to you.”

       Zari shrugged. “It was a little annoying, but I understand why you left, what you needed. It’s not like we’re the only little chicklings that have needed to fly away from the nest at one point. I kept telling them you would eventually come home. I think once mother sees you, beats you up to relieve her frustration and worry, then everything will go right back to normal.”

     Fen shifted uneasily. “What about Blake?”

     “They’ll love him, Fen!” she exclaimed with complete certainty. “Don’t worry! In fact I expect Mother and Father will take to him, pull him in under their wings immediately. He might get a little overwhelmed, but you’ll be there to buffer them. They’ll especially be welcoming when they see how much you love him.”

     “I never said…” he trailed off at her pointed look. “And Zarth?”

     “He takes to anyone, Fen. You know that. It’s Ferala we need to worry about.”

     Fen sighed. “She hasn’t changed then?”

    Zari snorted. “She’s worse! We’ll have to watch her around Blake.”

     “Blake can handle Ferala. He’s handled worse… It was unbelievable, Zari!” he burst out in anger. “The way he was treated! Unbelievable! He’s… he’s amazing and they never even took notice! He was invisible to them, and when he wasn’t, he was a source of disdain.”

   Zari reached over and pat his hand, smiling. “He’s got us now. Besides, that was amongst a school of children, Fen. What did you expect?”

     “The whole planet is messed up though. Greedy and self absorbed. They’re destroying themselves and they don’t even seem to see. And those like Blake who see beyond are ignored or pushed aside. Those with common sense are trampled on. It’s disgraceful and sad. They’ll be gone in less than a millennium.”

       “You never know. Maybe something will happen to make the Earthlings change their ways.”

       “Not likely,” Fen muttered. He was always going to be bitter about that planet for the sole reason of how Blake had been treated. “Zari, have you ever heard the name Diaeran before?”

       Zari sat, tapping her finger against her chin as she thought about it. “It does sound familiar.” Fen nodded. “I think… I think I’ve heard Dad speak about a man by that name. I think they were friends. And the name always comes up during a specific topic. Something to do with the tragedy in Marshee. You remember that, Fen? It happened fifteen years ago. Nearly the entire city destroyed. Families decimated. I remember Mother crying her eyes out for weeks. She had a great friend there who was killed.”

       “I remember that,” Fen said softly. “We all knew someone who died in Marshee… Zari, Blake’s guardian. His name is Diaeran. He implied he knew Dad. He must have met him because he said I looked a lot like him. And he told me to take Blake with me. Said Blake didn’t belong there.”

       Zari was staring at him with wide eyes. “Are you saying…”

       Fen nodded. “I can’t wait for Blake to open that box.”

 

* * *

 

     The next morning cycle found Fen sitting at the table in the canteen, fingers drilling on the table as he watched Blake moving around making breakfast. Eyes traveling over every inch of the mechanic, Fen wondered if Blake knew just how attractive he was in his mechanic jump suit. How sexy he looked with engine grease smeared across his face. How appetizing he smelled. The smell of engine and his cologne mixed together seemed to be an aphrodisiac to Fen and the scent always had his cock twitching. And the way he moved, without trying. Fen expected Blake was just naturally sensual, so of course Fen was always left wondering just how sensual he would be in bed and then that would make him harder. Have him aching beyond degree.

       “I can make her go faster,” Blake declared suddenly. Fen sucked in a breath and pulled away from thoughts of attacking Blake and pressing him on the table, stripping him and throwing his legs over his shoulders… “Fen!”

       Fen jumped and blinked. Blake was standing right beside him now, holding two bowls of scrambled eggs and sausage, glaring. “What? Sorry.”

     “I can make the ship go faster outside of hyper space,” Blake announced, setting one bowl in front of Fen. “I’m sure of it. Can we stop somewhere and hang around in space for a bit and let me try?”

       “Sure, babe. Anything you want. We’ll stop once we pull out of hyper space. In a couple of hours.”

       Blake nodded jerkily and sat down in his seat. He stared down at the bowl in front of him. He seemed mesmerized by his breakfast. “Um… I w-was thinking,” he started hesitantly. “You should probably learn how your engine works. Just in case it ever gets busted again and I can’t be around to fix it.”

     Fen sat up straight in his chair and half glared at him. “Why wouldn’t you be around?” he demanded. The thought left his voice rough. “Well?”

     Blake grinned a little and finally looked back at him. “What bug crawled up your ass?” Fen was fully glaring now. “It’s only a hypothetical situation, Fen. This is your ship. You should know the ins and outs.”

     Fen sat back and crossed his arms. “I’m not good with engineering,” he mumbled. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter now. I’m the pilot and you’re the mechanic.”

     Blake laughed. “The cook too. Don’t know how you managed before me. You can’t cook worth shit.”

     “Prepackaged rations worked wonders.” Blake snorted and shook his head. Fen smiled. “Besides, now it’ll always be like this. The two of us together.”

       Blake got very quiet and suddenly the tabletop was very fascinating.

       “Oh how sweet,” Zari said as she came in. “Together forever.”

     Fen shrugged, but he was still looking at Blake. “Yeah.”

     Zari smiled but when Blake looked back up at Fen, his eyes were wavering and a frown pulled down his lips. He stood suddenly and walked briskly out of the canteen, his entire body rigid with anger. Zari looked at Fen. Her brother looked like he had no idea what was going on. “What did I say?”

     She shook her head. “Earth really did make you stupid.” Then she smiled at him. Her big brother, wading through the uncharted territory of love.

       Fen said nothing more, but he did huff as he went on to finish his food. He ignored Zari’s amusement and tried to keep his knee from jumping in agitation.

     “Just go after him,” Zari finally said after some time. “You know you want to.”

     Fen nodded and prepared to do just that. He’d only taken one step away from the table when he felt his ship slowing, the hyper drives disengaging. “That’s not supposed to happen.”

     Zari sighed. This hurdle to true love and hot sex was on her. “Oops.”

     Fen turned to her, but she was avoiding his gaze. “What did you do?”

     “I may have changed our course. Just a little bit.”

     “Zari!”

     “It’s on the way!”

     Fen groaned in frustration and stomped out of the canteen. Zari was after him and followed him to the flight deck. “It’s only a short stop over, Fen. Please!”

     “Why?”                                                                                                  

     “There’s someone I want to see before going home.”

     Fen turned to study the MAP. They were in the Ciarun Sector. Approaching a small solar system with only one inhabited planet. A small moon. “Who do you know on Jharan?”

     “Friends. Besides, Blake will love it! Jharan is predominantly alien. Don’t get that look, Fen. They aren’t hostile. Your Earthling will be fine. You like the Amorstra.”

       Fen sighed and slumped in his chair, preparing for a landing.

       Meanwhile Blake had scrambled back to his room, not wanting them to see how truly upset he was. He groaned and dropped his head back against the door. Why did Fen have to be so affectionate? He only made things worse. Blake knew he didn’t do it on purpose, he didn’t purposely try and make him feel this discontent, but the longer they were together, the closer they became, and the more Blake realized he wanted more. He wanted more where he knew he couldn’t have more. But it was becoming very difficult pretending that he wasn’t completely into Fen. Maybe he was even in love with him. Blake wasn’t sure about that. He wanted to examine his feelings more closely, but he didn’t dare. What would be the point? If he did that, he’d probably only end up making himself feel worse about the situation.

       “And what does he think he’s doing calling me babe?” he muttered aloud. Not that he hadn’t liked it… in fact he might have loved it and internally melted when Fen had said it so easily, without any hesitation. And Blake had had the urge to lean over and drop a kiss on Fen’s lips, as if they had been together forever already. But they weren’t together! They weren’t together and he had to keep reminding himself Fen was straight before he did something that would freak his best friend out.

     Also disturbing was the fact Fen made him want to be a little clingy and dependent, which had never happened before. Never. He wasn’t the clingy type. Then again he’d never taken the time to get to know or care about a man before either. But being close to Fen always made him feel so good, made him feel… whole. God help him, but he liked being dependent on Fen. The ass made it so easy.

     How long could he last like this? If his feelings were as deep and as strong as he thought, how long before it broke him? Blake rolled his eyes at himself. That was just a tad too dramatic. Being with Fen in any capacity would never break him. He loved Fen… not in the same way he loved Diaeran, but it was kind of similar…. Blake groaned. He was in love with Fen! It wasn’t in any way similar to his bond with his guardian.

     “Son of a bitch!” Blake spun around and kicked his door. “This is what you get for thinking too much, idiot!”

     He moaned and wrenched the door open. A distraction would be so perfect right now. He ended up in the engine room where it was loud and he could concentrate on nothing but the sounds in there; listening to engine, checking to make sure it was running smoothly. He started his usual trek through the room, going back and forth between each section. He was almost annoyed that everything was running so smoothly.

     He’d just smiled ironically when he heard the hyper drives powering down and the ship decelerated, pitching him forward a few feet. Fen had said two hours and he was pretty sure it had only been half an hour, if that. He moved to the other side of the room where the main body of the hyperdrives was located. The panel of lights indicated no malfunction and the regular drives were working fine. “Huh.”

     Maybe Fen decided to pull them out of hyperspace early. It was confirmed when Fen came on over the comm. system and told him they were apparently making another- unscheduled- stop. Blake was all for it. Meant more distractions.

     When he got back to his room, Zari was waiting outside. “You can’t borrow my clothes.”  

       “But those dark blue trousers are divine!”

       She looked at him with wide eyes and miraculously he caved. “Okay.” She flashed him a victorious grin and swept past him into his room. “Uh, is there anything specific I should wear?” he asked her as he stepped in behind her.

       “It’s a working moon. Mining and industrialization. You could wear what you have on now and no one would look twice at you.”

       It kind of appealed to Blake. He was always comfortable in his work jumpsuit anyway. So all he did to get ready was go to the washroom across from his room and wash his face and hands. When he got back, Zari already had his trousers on. She also had one of his shirts on. A dark green long sleeved shirt. It was a loose neck and the shirt hung off her shoulders and dropped to her thighs. She arranged it to where one shoulder was completely bare. And she’d also taken one of his chain belts and looped it around her trim waist.

       “Huh.” Blake ran a hand back and forth on top of his head as he studied her. “I stand corrected. You look great in my clothes. I don’t think that’s very fair.”

      She grinned impishly and grabbed his arm, dragging him out of the room and through the ship to the flight deck. When they got there, Fen was leaning forward in his seat, drumming his fingers impatiently, and he glowered at Zari when they came in. His eyes then flickered over to Blake, who refused to look at him. Blake backed up a step, intending to sit in one of the seats behind the Navigators chair. As Fen’s sister, she probably had the right to sit beside Fen now.

     “Do we have clearance yet?” she asked and grabbed the Earthling’s arm before shoving him into his usual place. She had his restraints on before he could even put up a fuss… not that he would have anyway.

       “Just now… Blake?”

       “I’m good,” he said without looking at him.

       Fen gritted his teeth. Clearly he wasn’t and if it weren’t for Zari’s needing to visit this moon, he could have already been in the process of seducing Blake into a better mood. But no! Zari wanted to visit friends. So he had to wait and be patient.

     “Alright. Here we go,” and they descended.

 

* * *

 

Blake blew out a breath and unclenched his pale fingers from where they had been digging into the arm rests. It hadn’t been horrible, the landing. But it had been kind of scary. Just like take off, the landing had been speedy. Fen hadn’t even really slowed the ship down until they were five yards away from the ground. Pushing through the moon’s atmosphere had been nerve wracking as well, but it had also been cool to watch the ship peal through with little restraint.

       Zari laughed as she unbuckled herself and popped up from her seat behind Blake. “Your flying seems to have gotten better, brother. Or are you taking care for another reason?”

       “What do you think?” he asked with a smirk as he powered down the ship.

       Blake remained silent as they left the ship. They’d landed in a huge open tower. When they stepped off the ramp, Fen told them to wait a minute and then he walked over towards a door at the far side of the hangar. He was halfway there when two tall hulking figures emerged. Twice as wide and three heads taller than Fen. They had grayish blue skin, hairless, wore no shoes, and the only clothes they did have on were what Blake considered loin clothes. And because of the lack of clothes he could see their forms clearly. They were bulky, but it didn’t look like muscle. These guys had boulders for body parts.

       Blake’s eyes widened as he took these aliens in just as Fen pulled out papers from his back pocket. He handed the papers to one of the rock people. He waved over back towards his ship, talking to the other one. The other looked towards the ship, nodding. Blake saw the eye sockets were large, so large and full of shadow. He didn’t know if eyeballs were in there.

       “So,” Zari asked, “what do you think?”

       “Cool.”

      “Jharan is majorly settled by the Amorstra. They’re built for mining as you can see and are a nice people unless you anger them. They can smash you flat. Remember that, Earthling.”

         Blake nodded quickly, eyes still on the cool looking aliens. He shook his head in amazement when one of the aliens started laughing at whatever Fen had said. Fen was laughing too until the Amorstran knocked his right shoulder in amusement. Blake winced for Fen. Even if Fen didn’t show it, Blake knew that must have hurt a little. Fen then extended his left hand and shook the aliens’ hands before turning back towards them.

     “Don’t ever let them touch you. They forget their strength all the time,” Fen muttered when he was back beside them. Blake laughed. “Come on.” He draped an arm around Blake’s shoulders and led them out of the hangar to a large decrepit looking elevator. Blake looked around warily as Zari shut the gate, but then he supposed it would hold up since it probably had to carry Amorstrans up and down all day.

       “Is your shoulder okay?” Blake asked.

       “I’ll live.” Something in his voice had both Blake and Zari looking at him in worry.

       “What is it, Fen?”

       Fen looked at his sister. “They said pirates have been coming around here more and more. Stealing mining equipment. Creating trouble in town. It’s rumored they have a base somewhere near as well.”

         “Don’t worry so much. Pirates are stupid.”

         Fen glared at her even as he drew Blake closer with the hand on his hip. “Underestimating them is stupid. I did it, and I almost died.”

       Sensing the tension, Blake was relieved when the elevator finally came to a stop and the outside world appeared. “Look! We’re here!”

       He ran forward, opened the gate and shot out into the dim sunlight. From the corner of his eye, he thought he caught movement a little way down the barely paved road, but when he looked, no one was there. He shook his head, thinking he was just seeing things. The sun didn’t exactly give off good light. It was hazy and yet Fen said it was midday. Something about this moon’s position in the solar system. The air was denser here as well, but surprisingly he wasn’t too bothered by it. There wasn’t much green to be seen. But that made sense. It was a mining moon. It was mostly nothing but mineral.

     “Hey! Don’t go running off without us, Earth boy!” Zari snapped at him.

     Blake rolled his eyes. “I’m right here. Three feet away.”

     Fen appeared in front of him, eyeing him in a strange way. In such a way that it made him nervous. He assumed Fen was also pissed he’d left the elevator without him. Blake raised a brow and Fen seemed to get a little bit more annoyed. Fen’s angry face made Blake want to be naughty all the time. He coughed with that thought and quickly turned away.

     It was a ten minute walk from the port to the city proper. As they went along the group of three were constantly being passed by hovering vehicles which usually had mineral cargo loaded on it. At one point they passed a stalled unit and Blake had every intention of stopping and having a look at it, but both Zari and Fen grabbed his arms and dragged him away. The Amorstran who had been piloting the machine watched them in bemusement.

     “But I can fix it!”

     “You don’t have time to sit down and fix it.”

     He would deny it but Fen was fairly certain that was a pout on Blake’s face.

     Just like the space port, when Blake looked around, he noticed nothing was really as high tech as he expected. At least not the buildings. All made from stone. Simple square structures. And there were no actual stores. Most of the commerce was taken care of outside on the street in stalls. But these stalls lined the main street and so far only two of the vendors were Amorstra. Most of them were human. But there were three vendors he saw that weren’t either of those races. Two of the last vendors were short squat little red humanoids with spines covering their bodies. At least the parts Blake could see. But he was pretty sure even the parts that were clothed hid little red spines as well. The little creatures had bright yellow eyes and pointy teeth. Fen stopped in front of one of these stalls. The creature perked up, seeing one of his products had caught his eye.

       The little red man started talking rapidly in a sort of high pitched tone. Picking up some kind of pen looking thing and waving it around. Blake had no idea what he was saying, and he found that odd because Fen had pressed the microtranslator against the back of his ear before leaving the ship. Fen narrowed his eyes and spoke back, pointing to the pen, easily speaking the creature’s native language. Again his translator didn’t translate. The creature paused, Fen had obviously asked something. The little creature’s eyes shifted back and forth down each side of the road. He then turned back to Fen and answered something, his tone lowered in secret. Fen nodded and turned around.

     “Zari?” Blake looked to find her skipping away to the last vendor who was neither human, Amorstran, or this little red thing. It was a female humanoid with luscious curves. She was the same height as Zari. She also had no hair and had orange skin. Her body was covered in nothing but colorful patches of fabric. That only seemed to make her more pretty to Blake. “When and where are you meeting these friends?”

     “They should be heading down the mountain now. We have a little time,” Zari answered before turning back to the female alien, who looked to be selling fabrics. Fen turned back to the red creature and started to get into a serious discussion with him. Blake huffed, being left in the middle of the road and not understanding what anyone was saying. Why wasn’t his translator working? He lifted a hand and tapped the thin transparent thing tucked snug behind his ear.

     “Hey, Fen?”

     Fen immediately turned around, a brow raised in question. Blake tapped the microtranslator again. “It’s not working.”

     Fen smirked. “Microtranslators don’t translate all languages. For the specific purpose of keeping secrets.”

     There was probably a more detailed explanation, but Blake didn’t need any more information at the moment.

     As Fen went back to bartering with the vendor, Blake stepped back to look around some more. It wasn’t long before his attention was caught by something interesting. Metal glinting from the sun’s rays. He started walking toward it, squinting. His eyes widened when he noticed it was a scrap yard he was looking at. A lot of lone pieces, but there were some busted up vehicles. Glyders, Fen had called them. Explaining what they were when they’d been walking into town. Some of these glyders didn’t look completely unsalvageable.

     Blake’s fingers twitched as he drew closer, forgetting that he shouldn’t wander off. He had an overwhelming urge to attack one of the machines and instantly get to work, but he was also overrun with the feeling of déjà vu. As if he’d seen something like this before. And when he was finally standing in the middle of the salvage yard, that feeling encompassed him. As if he’d been there or somewhere very like it before, but with this exact mechanics. Not Earth mechanics.

       Blake started walking around, inspecting every piece of scrap he passed. Many of the things he didn’t understand what he was looking at, but many things he knew were ship and glyder parts. There were also broken robots. A head here, a leg there. And busted up weapons. Data boards. Things like that. Blake’s eyes gleamed. What he needed was a project beyond making sure the ship’s engines continued to run smoothly. He could find that project here.

     He dropped down to the ground beside a broken glyder, running a calloused hand over the metal. It was rusted metallic green color and only the skeleton. Most of the important components gone. But Blake knew he could find all he needed by searching around. Standing back up, he looked around, searching for someone. Surely someone was in charge of this place. He didn’t want to take something if this wasn’t an open junk yard. It had been open, but a gate still surrounded the large yard.

     After a minute of seeing no one, he decided to go and get Fen. He’d know what he could and couldn’t do here. And he’d probably know where he could get something to carry everything he wanted to take back to the ship. He’d only turned when he saw six heavily armed people approaching the way he’d come in. They weren’t all human, but they were all humanoid. Blake wasn’t really going to pay attention to that right now. Species wasn’t important to him. He was more worried that they seemed to be looking for something.

     Immediately after spotting them, he crouched back down to hide behind a glyder skeleton. They didn’t look friendly. Blake had learned long ago that if they didn’t look friendly, it was safe to assume they weren’t. And again, he just wasn’t that trusting of strangers, not to mention the fact there were six of them and one of him. He was going to do the safe thing and stay out of the way. He didn’t like confrontations.

       “Saw him come in, I tell you. On his own. He’s from Earth, too.”

       Blake’s eyes widened and he ducked down further. They were looking for him?

     “He’ll bring in a fine pay day. Earthlings are rare. Especially young ones.”

     “He’s here somewhere.”

     “Spread out.”

       Pirates, Blake realized. And fuck, they were looking for him. How did they even know he was from Earth? When did they see him? And he had been stupid to wander away from Fen. Blake bit his lip. It would be a very bad thing if they caught him. No one was around. But he couldn’t stay crouched down like this forever. Eventually they would find him. He could hear them moving around, searching.

     Taking a deep breath, trying to ignore his terrified shaking, Blake peaked over the glyder skeleton. His eyes widened in relief when he saw the path to the main road was clear. But then when he couldn’t see any of the pirates, he became twice as wary. Where did they go?

     A few deep breaths later, Blake popped up and ran. Ran as fast as he could. He heard something behind him, but he didn’t dare turn to look. He was almost there, and he would have cried in relief when he saw Fen was jogging down the road towards the salvage yard, Zari trailing after him, stopping at another stall, but that relief turned into terror when he was grabbed from behind. He cried out as he was tackled to the ground and a large hand slapped over his mouth before he could shout for help.

     “You’ll keep quiet if you want to live through this,” a rough voice hissed in his ear as he was dragged backwards.

       _Fuck that_ , Blake thought and he started struggling. They wanted to take him away from Fen. With courage dredged up by desperation, Blake twisted his head around and managed to bite the hand over his mouth. He bit so hard he knew he broke skin. Blake hoped he didn’t have diseases. The pirate shouted out and wrenched his hand away from him.

     “FEN! HELP!”

     A fist smashed against the back of his head and Blake went down again, this time dazed and in pain. The world became double and his vision started to dim. A hand then grabbed his hair and jerked him up, pulling him to his feet. Blake felt tears prickle his eyes. He could feel his hair being pulled from his scalp and it hurt like a bitch. Another hand was placed over his mouth.

     “Try that again and I’ll kill your lover. I saw the spacer you were with. Yeah, the way he was watching you… He’s your lover, isn’t he? Go ahead. Scream and watch him die.”

       Blake went rigid. Not because of the pirate’s words, but because he could no longer see Fen on the road. Where did he go? Did the pirates get him anyway? Did he hear his call for help? Blake hoped not. He didn’t want anything to happen to him.

       Sensing his words had an effect, the pirate chuckled darkly. “That’s a good little Earthl-”

       The pirate was suddenly ripped away from him and thrown to the ground. Blake spun around to find Fen over the pirate, smashing his face in with the darkest look on his face. Blake rushed over and grabbed at his arm. It wasn’t over yet. The other pirates had heard the scuffle and were appearing from every direction, surrounding them. “There’s more, Fen! Come on!” and now all the pirates were on top of them, two dragging Blake away from Fen and the others dragging Fen away from the pirate he was killing with his fists.

       Fen immediately reigned in his furious temper and assessed the situation. They were fucked, clearly. He’d only seen the one pirate. But there were six. He didn’t want to pull his weapon. They didn’t have their weapons out but if he pulled his, there was a chance Blake might get hit. He didn’t want this to turn into a gun fight. They’d end up dead.

       “Hey! What’s going on?” Zari had apparently joined the party.

     “Pirates! Run!” Fen shouted when he saw one of the attackers turn towards her. She did exactly what he said, knowing what would happen if all three of them were captured. She could only help them if she escaped.

     “Leave her alone!” Blake dove forward and knocked down the guy who’d turned to run after Zari. One of the others jumped over them and ran out of the yard after her, but the others remained where they were to try and subdue Fen and Blake who was back on his feet trying to fight them off. And then one of them got smart.

       “Don’t you fucking dare!” Fen shouted at the one approaching Blake, but he was ignored and the pirate shoved a plasmastick into Blake’s stomach. Blake cried out as his body suffered a massive painful shock. He started convulsing and bit through his lip. His legs collapsed from beneath him and the pirates just let him drop to the floor. Immediately another pirate crouched beside him and stabbed him in the neck with a needle. No doubt a tranquilizer. Blake was unconscious in seconds; blood dribbling from the corner of his mouth and his body still twitching.

         Fen shouted in fury and doubled his struggling, eyes only on Blake. He managed to wrench away from one pirate and twisted around to punch the other. He was able to get free and ran for Blake. He was a foot away when something bashed into the back of his head. His vision dimmed as he went down and the last thing he saw before losing consciousness were hands grabbing Blake roughly to pick him up off the floor and drag him away.

* * *

 

Fen woke up wide awake. He sat up, ignoring the sharp pain at the back of his head and looked around. Immediately he remembered what happened and he looked desperately around the small dank cell for Blake but he found himself alone. Fear clawed at his gut like daggers. These were pirates. Most were nasty. They usually had no morals and these clearly didn’t since they were abducting people right off the street. Pirates usually weren’t so bold. And he knew without having to be told that they had gone after Blake on purpose, and he knew why too. “Blake!”

     “Fen?” a soft voice echoed around and then he heard shuffling. “FEN?”

    The shout was right behind him. Fen spun around and noticed the lone window. Very small with two bars keeping people from trying to squeeze through. Fen ran for the window and reached it just as Blake came into view. Fen reached a hand through the bars, grabbed the back of Blake’s head and dragged his face forward, crushing Blake’s lips with his, careful of his friend’s busted lip. Gods, he was so relieved. So so relieved to see him alive. To see him relatively unharmed. To see him here. If Blake were still in a cell, they hadn’t already shipped him off to be sold as a slave or shanghaied. He was still with him.

     He pulled back only slightly. Blake had a tight hold of the hand buried in his hair. “God, I thought they’d k-killed you, Fen. T-they said they were g-going to kill you.”

       Fen threw his other hand through the bars, cupping his cheek and pressing their lips together again and again and Blake met him each time. It wasn’t exactly how he’d pictured or planned their first kiss to be, but he was so relieved he couldn’t help himself. Blake didn’t seem to mind. “We’ll get out of this, I promise.”

       Blake nodded unsurely. “Zari. I haven’t seen or heard Zari. I don’t think they got her. She must have gotten away.”

       Fen breathed out in relief. “She’s got friends here and the pirates wouldn’t have chased after her for long. It would have drawn too much attention. If she can’t help us out, she’ll contact Zarth or even Father and they’ll bring an army, Blake. These pirates don’t know who they are dealing with.”

       They stood there a minute, just standing there and watching each other, continuing to hold on to each other.

     “You kissed me,” Blake finally stated.

       Fen grinned. “Yeah.”

       “I’m hoping—I mean… I’m going to assume it wasn’t an accident.”

       Fen snorted out a laugh and dropped his forehead against the bars. “I’ve wanted to kiss you since the moment you slid out from underneath that car.”

     Blake looked ridiculously surprised. “I didn’t even know you liked guys. I thought I was harboring a crush on my straight best friend.”

       Fen pulled back and stared at him incredulously. “The entire time? Seriously?” Blake shrugged. “I’d like to punch you right now.”

       Blake laughed and Fen decided he wanted just one more before they had to decide what to do about their situation. He pressed in again only to growl in annoyance because the bars were keeping him from devouring Blake.

     The door behind Blake was suddenly thrown open. Three men entered the room.

     Blake started shaking his head. “No,” he whispered, panic widening his eyes. “No. Fen, I don’t want to go.”

     “Let’s go, Earth boy! We’ve already got us a buyer for you. Owns a labor ship full of rare things.”

     Fen grabbed onto Blake’s head tightly, staring into terrified eyes. “I’ll find you. I swear I’ll find you. Trust me?” he whispered quickly and Blake nodded. “I swear—don’t touch him! Get your hands off him. I’ll kill you! Don’t touch him!”

     “Shut up, you!”

     They grabbed Blake and ripped him away. “Fen!” he shouted, trying to break away, but all three pirates were far bigger than him. “Fen!”

      “I’ll find you!”

      “Fen!” The door slammed closed, Fen was left facing an empty cell and all he could hear was Blake’s scared calls echoing in his head.


	7. Chapter 7

**Joy Ride  
**

**7**

Fen took deep breaths, nostrils flaring as he tried to calm down and think rationally. He stared through the window at the door Blake had been dragged through. It was ajar. They hadn’t bothered shutting or locking it. Fen clenched his teeth in frustration while his fingers twisted around the bars. He wanted to kill every single pirate who had ever come near Blake. He would too if he had a gun on him. Unfortunately he didn’t and he was still locked up.

     His eyes dropped down to his hands and he began to study the bars and then the window frame. Everything around him was stone and the bars were thrust into it. Maybe he could dislodge the bars and climb into the cell. He eyed the small space. He wasn’t even sure he could get his shoulders through but he was prepared to try. He had to get out of there before they left with Blake. If the pirates got Blake onto a ship, it would take Fen forever to find him. It would take too long to track him. Labor ships were horrible and illegal. And because they were illegal, they tended to go around like ghost ships. No trails in order to keep off the Alliance radars.

     Fen tried to dislodge the bars with his hands first but they weren’t budging. He cursed and backed away, running hands through his hair as he looked around at the utterly empty room. It was just crème white stone and a steal door. He couldn’t punch his way through it. He put his hands behind his head and started hopping on his toes, trying to think. He had to get out of there. The image of Blake being dragged away from him, hazel eyes widened in fright. Fen dropped his hands and growled in frustration. How long had it been? Five minutes, ten minutes? It felt like an eternity. Too long! Too fucking long….

     As he balled his hands at his sides, fury lighting his eyes, it was then he felt the shape of something in his pocket. Immediately the fury left him and he stared at his pocket incredulously. Did they really not… sure, they had taken his weapon therefore he’d been sure they would have made sure he wasn’t carrying anything else on him. Any more weapons or valuables. That had been another problem which had begun to worry him. If they had his ship controller, but… he dipped a hand into his pocket and pulled out the triangular device and just stared at it.

       “They didn’t even check…”

      His eyes widened and he dropped the controller back into his pocket. He then lifted his leg, bending it at the knee. He reached back to the heel of his boot. He shook his head in relief and disbelief as he pulled the hidden dagger from the heel. He righted himself and stared at it. It wasn’t even that well hidden. Most spacers had knives hidden in their boots for emergencies. _Everyone_ knew this.

   Despite thinking these pirates were stupid after all, he also felt hope returning. Maybe he could chip away at the bars. So that’s what he started to do; muttering under his breath about killing pirates while he tried chipping away at the stone surrounding the bars. He tried to keep the panic and desperation pushed back since that only made his hands shake, but as the seconds went by and then the minutes and the rock wasn’t chipping away, Fen’s forced calm was ebbing quickly.

     “Fuck you,” he snarled at his knife, noticing it wasn’t even causing a scratch. Looking around again, he realized he should have known. The place was built within rock and it was a specific kind of rock. The kind that was mined daily and shipped all over the known universe. It was popular for that very reason. It was strong. Still, he refused to give up.

     He moved over to the door, studying it and where he thought the lock might be. He slid the dagger into the edge of the door at the top and dragged it down until it caught on something. The lock mechanism. Then he tried digging into the rock there. It wasn’t until his knife broke in half did Fen finally lose his temper. He started bellowing; screaming at the top of his lungs. Kicking and hitting the metal door and ignoring the damage he was doing to his hands. He vaguely hoped some of his captors would get annoyed with his shouting and come and open the door to subdue him. If they did he would be ready for them. He only needed the door opened.

       “Fucking bastards! I’ll kill every last one of you if you hurt him!”

       There was a laugh on the other side. A female laugh. “Not very scary when you’re locked behind a door.”

     Fen stopped his pounding. “Zari?”

     “Who else did you think would come and save your behind?”

     “Zari, get me out. They already took Blake away! Not long ago! I can still catch him!”

     “Don’t worry. We have people all over their base. We’ll find Blake.”

     “GET ME OUT OF HERE!”

     “Open it,” Zari ordered.

     “Don’t have the key,” someone else mumbled.

     “Useless,” another hissed and then there was a thud as if a body had dropped to the floor.

     “I’ve got it,” a male spoke. “Tell him to back away from the door.”

     Fen had already done so before Zari relayed the message. He backed up into the far corner, eyes on the door. And when he heard the high pitched whine of a charging cannon blaster, Fen crouched down, buried his face against his knees, and crossed his arms over his head.

     The shockwave of the release had Fen pressing back into the corner as he felt debris flying all around him. He flinched to his left when he heard part of the door slam into the wall beside him. Things settled quickly and Fen looked up to see a guy standing just in front of the blasted away door, holding a cannon blaster in his arms.

     “I can see why you’re in love with that thing, Tyk,” Zari laughed and then she appeared beside the guy, smirking at her wide eyed brother. Fen ran over and gave her a quick hug before accepting the plasma gun she held out to him. He looked around, noted the half a dozen people she had brought along with her. It was then he heard the sounds of fighting somewhere else within the underground base.

     “Bring an army?”

     Zari grinned. “Something like that. Told you I had friends here.”

     Fen grinned around at the others, sending a silent thanks to all of them. They nodded back at him. “Let’s go find Blake.”

* * *

 

Fear twisted Blake’s stomach as he was dragged away from his cell, away from Fen. Terror made bile rise in his throat. He could still hear Fen calling for him, promising to find him and then Fen’s voice faded away the farther they walked. He was dragged through corridors, under what he felt was an underground compound of some kind, and the walk seemed like forever. He felt like he was being walked to his death.

   Blake felt his eyes watering. Some fear was for his actual predicament, in that he was apparently being sold as a slave to someone and there were hundreds of galaxies for him to get lost in. But most of the terror had to do with Fen. He was being taken away. What if he never saw Fen again?

     This is what had him terrified more than anything. And this was what made him act. He knew it was nearly hopeless to get away, and it was a stupid risk since there were three of them, but he couldn’t just let them drag him away. Suddenly there were shouts up ahead and the sound of plasma guns disturbed the relative silence around. In front and behind and this had his guards shifting and murmuring, becoming nervous and distracted. A perfect opportunity.

     One of the guards spun around and ran down the way they’d come. That’s the way Blake wanted to go. He wouldn’t leave this place without Fen. With the one guy gone, the other two were nervous and grabbed onto him tighter. He was being held between them, hands held behind his back by one. This was a shame since he would have liked to grab the plasma bolt thingy off one of the pirates’ waists. He couldn’t do that so he would have to improvise.

     Blake mentally sighed. He was probably going to get hurt again. But it would be worth it if he could get away. He had finally been kissed by Mr. Tall, Awesome, and Gorgeous- Fen deserved to be upgraded- and if these pirates thought they were going to separate them now, they had another thing coming. It was his fault they were in this situation anyway. He couldn’t leave Fen alone. Who knows what they might do to him.

     He was breathing deeply, quietly, trying to build up his nerve. And when the pirate who had his hands jerked him to a stop because the disturbance up ahead appeared to be getting closer, Blake jerked away and twisted around to the pirate holding onto his shoulder. He ignored the pain of his arms being twisted and drop kicked the pirate he’d turned to in between his legs. The pained whine from the pirate as he doubled over was very satisfying, but Blake didn’t spare any time to gloat about it.

     “BLAKE!”

     Blake spun around, wrenching his hands away from the last pirate- the one he kicked in the balls was on the floor- and started running. Running for Fen’s voice. How had Fen escaped? He didn’t really care. All he cared about was hearing Fen’s bellowing and knowing he was nearby.

       Behind him he heard movement, scuffling, and the release of more plasma bolts- that’s what he was assuming anyway. When he saw Fen round the far corner, a gun in hand and half a dozen other people, including Zari- clearly friendly’s- behind him, a relieved smile broke out on his face. It was wiped clean when he was tackled from the side by another pirate who had been coming from the hall he was just passing. The pirate’s tackle had enough momentum that he was thrown to the side and into the wall; the top of his head bouncing off the stone with a sickening smack. Pain speared down his spine; Blake released a weak moan and slipped into the painless abyss.

* * *

 

He woke up slowly, aware of voices speaking lowly over him. Zari and a few other voices. Soft non hostile. He felt a hand on his head, fingers caressing and tugging gently on his auburn hair.

     “Thank you. Thank you for helping us,” Zari was saying.

    “Anything for you, love,” a man answered. “You’ve saved our asses several times. And we’d been itching to take care of those rats for months. You just gave us the final push we needed. Wasn’t about to let your brother and friend be taken.”

     “Still, Jax. I can’t thank you enough. We almost lost Blake.”

     There was a short silence and Blake could feel all eyes on him. Finally someone spoke. “So he’s from Earth, eh?” this voice was deep. It rumbled and was guttural. “Long long way from home.”

     “It’s not his home anymore. His home’s with us,” Zari declared.

     Blake forced his eyes opened, his breathing coming rapid when he realized he hadn’t heard Fen yet. Had they saved Fen? Was he okay? Before he could really start to panic, the fingers in his hair paused and Fen’s face swam into view. Blake’s arms launched out on their own and wrapped around Fen, whose arms did the same. He was carefully pulled into a sitting position and he dropped his forehead on Fen’s shoulder- ignoring the painful twinge in his neck- and tried to get himself under control while Fen’s arms closed tighter around him.    

     “Careful,” Fen murmured, lightly touching the crown of his head. Blake winced. “Your neck was damaged and you acquired a large bump on your head when you ran head first into that wall.”

     Blake snorted. “Dick. I didn’t run into the wall on purpose.”

     “Looked like it to me.”

     “What about my neck? Is it okay?” he asked quietly and held his breath because it was sore.

     “Yeah, we got you fixed up. You’ll be perfect in a day or two… as long as you stop running into walls.”

     Blake drew back an arm and sent it into Fen’s stomach. Fen didn’t do anything but laugh in his ear. Blake mentally sulked. He needed to learn how to hit better.

    “How do you feel?”

     Blake thought about it. Aside from the small pain in his head, the soreness of his neck, and the ache in his stomach, everything else appeared to be normal. Though his mouth was horribly dry. “Feels like I swallowed a bucket of sand.”

       Fen frowned after a silent moment. “Side effects of the medicines we gave to you for your concussion. Causes dehydration,” he finally said.

     Blake could feel eyes him, a lot of eyes, so he kept his face hidden against Fen who seemed to understand his reluctance to meet new people at the moment. Fen shifted a little and reached for something. He didn’t seem particularly interested in letting Blake move an inch away.

     “This should help.”

     Blake turned to look and then jerked away. “That’s from Satan! I’m not drinking that!” Zari caught on before Fen did; she started laughing. Fen stared at the innocent glass of purple liquid and then frowned at Blake, who was scrambling away towards the headboard. “How is that supposed to help? It’s purple acid!”

       Fen shook his head, laughing under his breath. “Blake, it’s not the same. Promise.” He grabbed one of Blake’s hands and drew him back. Blake’s eyes finally roamed around the room as he allowed himself to be tugged back to Fen’s lap, _on his lap_ , and that was very nice. There were four other people in the room along with them. Zari, a guy whom she had her arm around, another man who was tall, bulky, and bald, and an Amorstran. The rock guy was hunched over since the ceiling was a little too low for him. Upon closer inspection he saw the Amorstran did indeed have eyes. Little dark beady eyes like a crab. _That’s pretty cool._

When Fen snickered, Zari laughed, and even the alien chuckled, Blake’s eyes went wide. “I said that aloud.”

       “Yes you did.”

       Blake tried to fight the flush creeping up his neck and took the glass Fen was trying to hand to him. He eyed Fen suspiciously and sniffed the drink. The drink didn’t smell like the purple acid, in fact it didn’t smell like anything. It was odorless. It was kind of tasteless too but it did the job. The liquid cleared his mouth, shrunk his puffy tongue, it instantly soothed his dry mouth and scratchy throat. Even his headache let up a bit. It no longer seemed as if he’d had something crawl into his mouth and die there.

       When he was finished with it, he grinned at Fen. “You could make a fortune selling that as a hangover remedy on Earth.”

     “I’ll keep that in mind for the next time we _visit_.”    

       Fen’s low possessive tone had Blake grinning. He slid off Fen’s lap while Fen turned his head slightly, looking at Zari from the corner of his eye. His sister nodded, quickly and easily clearing the room out. Blake suppressed a grin when the Amorstran moved. Every step he took made the room shudder from his heavy steps.

     “So how long are we staying here?” Blake asked when Fen moved to flop down beside him, bending his arms and tucking his hands behind his hand.

       “Not long. Gave Zari a couple of hours. Seems to be good friends with these people, that one quiet guy especially. Never met any of them before.”

     “Huh.” Blake lay back when a hand tugged on his shoulder. His head was pillowed by Fen’s shoulder. “So what happened?”

     Fen stared up at the ceiling and shifted a little, getting more comfortable and in turn subtly getting Blake’s body to fall closer to his. “Zari managed to get away by hiding under one of the vendor tables. She said she was under there for only a few minutes before the pirates gave up looking for her. By the time she was back on the road, her friends had made it down from the mountain. The ones you saw in here. The tall burly bald guy is Jax. The other, the quiet one who I don’t think said one word after the attack, is Tyk. That’s the guy she really came here to see. And then the Amorstran. His name’s Oban.

     “Apparently they’d been planning to rid the mining town from the pirates for a while but never had the opportunity before now. Since it wasn’t long after we were taken, Zari and the others were able to track the pirates and find the base. After they did that, Jax and Oban recruited others. It wasn’t long before they ended up outside my cell. Not long after you’d been taken. I ran around for a bit until I found you…”

   “What happened after I was _tackled_ into the wall?”

     Fen snorted. “All the pirates were taken care of, we left and came here to Jax’s place. There was a healer here not too long ago.”

     “What? No resistance?”

     “It’s kind of hard to resist when you’re dead,” Fen replied flatly. Blake turned his head, looking at him. Fen shrugged. “I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty. Done it before… The thing about being a spacer… you can’t hesitate. It’s not exactly a peaceful life. Space isn’t tame, no matter how the Alliance tries to paint it. They do a good job, but still some things slip by them. It’s a vast place, the universe.”

       “No I wasn’t judging you,” Blake quickly said. Fen remained quiet and Blake could see his jaw was clenched. Blake sat up and twisted around to stare down at him. “I wasn’t.” Then he smirked, sliding a hand up Fen’s chest. “I get it. You’re a space cowboy.” Leaning down, he stopped just a breath away from Fen’s lips. “It’s hot.”

     Fen semi-relaxed, his own smirk curling his lips. “For the record, we’re called spacers. Not space cowboys.”

     “I like my description better.”

     Fen grinned even though he wasn’t completely relaxed since Blake was touching him and giving him that sexy smile, and clearly he did think it was hot because his eyes were a painted picture. Who knows what might have happened next, but unfortunately neither Fen nor Blake could make a move since they were suddenly invaded by Zari, who came in chatting away, demanding time with Fen because she had to ask him something. Blake slid away and back down to the mattress, a secret smile on his lips as Fen growled and glared at his sister who stood at the end of the bed. Finally Zari seemed to realize Fen didn’t want to talk to her at that moment, and then she remembered what she had seen directly after walking into the room. She smirked at them.

     “Get out, Zari. We’re tired. Go visit with your friends. We’ll talk later.”

     Surprisingly Zari said nothing else and vacated the room.

     “Well this has been a learning experience.”

     “What were you doing in the salvage yard? Alone,” Fen murmured lowly.

     “I was hypnotized by broken things. Wanted to start a new project… Sorry.”

       “You should have waited.”

       “But I was hypnotized… and you and Zari were off talking alien.” Blake turned suddenly and draped his body over Fen’s, pressing his face into Fen’s neck. “I’m sorry.”

       Fen went stiff underneath him. “Um… yeah.”

       Blake closed his eyes. He was truly tired. Being safe and knowing Fen and Zari were perfectly safe was relieving and draining. Second by second he felt Fen relax beneath him and soon an arm was draped over his lower back. It wasn’t long before Fen’s breathing slowed and evened out and Blake followed him to sleep immediately after.

       He was woken up some time later by hushed angry voices that were steadily rising. He opened his eyes, finding himself on his back. Fen was out of bed, standing across the room with his sister. They were both glaring at each other.

     “How could you promise that without even asking?” Fen hissed. “It’s my ship!”

     “He only needs a ride to Solndaire. From there he can get a commercial flight. If he waits for a commercial flight here, it’ll be a month! It’s not a big deal, Fen!”

       “If it’s not such a big deal, why didn’t you ask me before we got here? I don’t want to overwhelm Blake with too many people. It’s a tight space for a week and a half.”

     “He gets along fine with me, idiot, and Blake’s not a baby. One more person on board isn’t going to kill him. Tyk is a good person.”

       “That’s beside the point.”

       “You know what I think?”

       “No, I don’t want to know!”

       “I think you’re afraid someone else will turn your Earthling’s head!”

       Fen snorted. “Yeah, no way will that happen,” he replied with such a flippant assurance that it had Blake rolling his eyes. Cocky jock.

       “Probably true,” Blake piped in as he sat up. “Is there a bathroom around here?”

     “Down the hall and to the left,” Zari murmured, continuing to glare at her brother, who was smirking at Blake as he climbed from bed.

       Blake left the room, plucking at his jumpsuit. The t-shirt was stuck to his skin. He wished badly for a shower and a fresh set of clothes. Just outside of the door stood a guy leaning against the wall. He was the one Zari had been hugging when he first woke up in the room. He was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and frowning at the floor. He looked up as Blake passed him. Knowing Fen, he would cave to his sister’s wishes, even if he really didn’t want to.

     “You Tyk?” he asked, backtracking to stand in front of him. The guy was a few inches above his height and had dark hair. His eyes were an odd brown color. Very light, like caramel. From his expression, Blake didn’t think he smiled a lot. And he looked a few years older than Blake. Probably around the same age as Fen.

     “Yeah.”

     “You helped rescue us?”

     “Mhmm.”

     “Thanks.”

     “Don’t need thanks. I need a ride.”

     Blake appreciated honesty. And he appreciated bluntness. And he trusted Zari when she said he was a good person, even though it was kind of hard to see this with his closed off expression. But Blake didn’t want to judge books by their covers. And again he had helped him. Went to his rescue when he didn’t even know him. And this was a new chapter of his life. He didn’t want it to be anything like his old life, so he straightened and smiled.

     “Fen will say yes. If he doesn’t cave to Zari, he’ll cave to me.” Tyk finally looked him in the eye. Blake shrugged. “You helped us. The least we could do is return the favor.”

       He went off to the bathroom before Tyk could reply.

       Within the room, Zari smiled smugly at her brother. “He’s right, isn’t he?”

       Fen groaned. “Fine. He can come.”

       Zari squealed and ran out into the hall. Fen followed her, glowering when he found her hugging the guy. “Is that necessary?” he asked, his words aimed at Tyk because he didn’t like this guy hanging on his baby sister. He knew nothing about the spacer. And being one himself, Fen knew spacers were unpredictable and many weren’t to be trusted.

       Tyk wisely backed up a space. He wanted a ride after all. No point in getting him angrier. Fen turned to Zari. “Keep an eye on Blake. I gotta go somewhere.”

     “Where are you going?”

     “Out. Just don’t let him out of your sight. And no more going around calling him Earth boy. That’s how they found out, Zari.”

 

* * *

 

Riding the elevator back up to the ship hangar was kind of awkward. Which in turn was odd. The odd thing was the fact that Fen’s arm was back over his shoulders. But this time it was different, and that made it awkward. Maybe because they hadn’t talked about anything in regards to ‘them’ yet. Probably because they were good friends wanting to evolve into more. Under normal circumstances, Blake would have shrugged the awkwardness off. If it were just any Tom, Dick, or Harry. But he cared now. It was Fen. He knew Fen was thinking the same. So it was awkward, but not the bad kind. Zari may have sensed all this because she kept giving them annoying little smirks while Tyk just stood back, silent as ever.

   “Where did you go anyway?” he asked Fen as they stepped out of the lift. “You were gone a while.”

   “Had to go pick something up. From that vendor I was talking to earlier.”

     “It took you hours to do that?”

     “Had other things to do as well.”

     “Fine. Don’t tell me, jerk.”

     Once inside the ship, Blake made his way to the engine room, waiting there until Fen started the engines so he could make sure it was still running smoothly. Once he deemed everything was as it should be, he hiked back up to the flight deck. His navigator’s chair was empty. Tyk sat in one of the seats behind Fen while Zari lounged in the seat directly behind the navigation. Since this appeared to be his seat, Blake mentally ordered himself to ask Fen to teach him navigation. The least he could do was make himself useful on the flight deck as well.

     “Everything’s good,” he said while strapping in.

     And then Tyk spoke for the first time since leaving Jax’s place. “He’s from Earth. You’re going to put the life of your engines in his hands? What does he know?”

     Before Fen could turn around and bite his head off, Blake turned to face him. “I’m an engineering genius. I rebuilt his engine from scratch. He wouldn’t have gotten off Earth without me.”

     “She flies better than ever. He makes engines purr,” Fen said. Blake looked over to find the man clenching his teeth. Clearly he wished he hadn’t caved. Fen looked over his shoulder at his sister, who didn’t look embarrassed at all. She only grinned back. As if she were used to Tyk’s attitude.

     The moment they were back in space, Tyk got out of his seat and disappeared, Zari following after him.

     “You think they’re together?” Fen made a face and Blake laughed. “At least he’s cheerful.”

     “Him being here. That’s on you.”

       “We do owe him. He didn’t have to help.”

       “Since when do you care? Why?”

       Blake unstrapped himself and stood. “Don’t know. Guess… because this is a new start for me. I want to be a better person maybe.”

     “There is nothing at all wrong with you. Before or now.”

     “Sometimes I felt empty,” Blake whispered in confession. “Like I was a shell of a person.”

     Talk like that made Fen angry, because it wasn’t true. At least the part about Blake being an empty shell. It wasn’t true and he damned everyone on Earth who made him feel so. Everyone who made Blake feel empty. “I think you’re amazing,” he gladly admitted, looking straight at him.

       “I…” Blake laughed, his cheeks flushing a little. “Thank you, Fen.”

       Fen cleared his throat and turned back to his nav charts; a small smirk on his lips. “Whatever. You know it’s true.”

       “Right back at you, space boy.”

       “Space _man_ ,” Fen corrected, this time with a wide grin.

       Blake laughed and turned away. “I’m going to go wash up and change.”

       Fen turned to look at him over his shoulder. His eyes were shining with mirth. “Don’t trip and hit your head in the shower.”

       Blake flipped him off on his way out. He went to his room to gather up his necessary things and then went to take a long needed shower. He took a long time washing; inside and out, just in case. Not that he thought they would move onto that so soon, but he wouldn’t say no if Fen wanted to suddenly jump him.

       On his way back to the bridge, he decided to stop in the Green room to visit Sheba. He stopped just inside to find both Tyk and Zari within. Zari was hovering in front of Sheba’s cage, cooing to the snake, while Tyk was lounging in one of the chairs, head back and staring at the ceiling. Looking at the guy as he walked in, Blake kind of thought he’d had a shitty life too, what with the way his personality was and he was kind of curious about that.

     He walked over to Sheba’s cage and gently bumped Zari over with his hip before opening the terrarium’s door. “Sweetie, did you miss me?” he asked, sticking his hand in. Shea slid out of her rock house, onto his warm hand, and straight up his dress shirt sleeve.

       “Can I hold her?” Zari asked.

       “When she comes back out,” he answered, turning around to choose what chair he wanted. He caught Tyk staring at him, looking him up and down. From his feet, which were only in socks at the moment, up his old black trousers, and over the dark blue shirt. There wasn’t anything beyond curiosity in this look so Blake relaxed and chose the seat across from him with the veggie garden between them.

     “So, Blake,” Zari began, sitting next to him with a particular look in her eyes.

     “Not now,” he groaned, and then wiggled a little when he felt Sheba slithering down his back. He leaned forward a bit so he wouldn’t shift and squish her. “Hey, I haven’t said yet, but thanks.”

     “What did you think I was going to do? Turn my back and not go after you? Even if Fen hadn’t been captured, I still would have grabbed my friends and gone after you. And it wasn’t your fault. It was my fault for being a loud mouth and announcing to everyone around that you were from Earth. The pirates would never have known; they would never have given you a second look if they hadn’t known you were an Earthling.”

     “Don’t blame yourself,” Blake said firmly. “No casting blame. We’ll just have to be more careful.”

     Zari looked at him. A soft smile on her face. Every time she spoke with Blake, she liked him even more. “Oh there she is! A real Earth snake! She’s so pretty—let me hold her,” she demanded, looking down behind him. Blake craned his head to see the snake slithering out from under the hem of his shirt. He gently pulled her all the way out and then handed her over to an impatiently waiting alien chick.

     “What’s your story?”

     Blake snapped his gaze away from Zari to look at Tyk. “What’s yours? You must be a dick for a reason.”

     Zari laughed. “He called you.”

     Tyk shifted in his seat. He didn’t look particularly insulted by that. “I didn’t mean for it to be as insulting as it sounded.”

   “Yeah ya did. I’m from Earth so what could I know.”

     “Earth’s known to be-”

     “Infantile. Yeah, I’ve heard that before. In the grand scheme of things, I agree. Especially knowing what I know now.”

     “So how did you end up here?”

       “I met Fen.”

    “And you left your world for him. Just like that?”

     “Just like that.”

     The clogs were turning and Tyk didn’t seem to like his conclusions. “That’s pathetic.”

       “Tyk,” warned Zari.

       Blake stood, smiling at Zari. “Let him think what he wants. He doesn’t know the whole story. His opinion is shit to me. Make sure to put her back in her cage before you leave here,” he said, indicating Sheba. He left the Green room and headed back to the flight deck. He was only a few steps away from the Green room when he heard Zari screeching her head off at her friend.

     “What’s Zari going on about now?” Fen questioned when he sat down.

     Blake shrugged. He really didn’t want Fen to get worked up about Tyk. And he didn’t want to think about the new guy. He wanted to wonder when Fen would kiss him again. The kisses between the bars had been nice, but they’d also been hasty actions of relief and they hadn’t gotten a proper taste of each other. He wondered if maybe Fen thought it was a mistake. Maybe he regretted it.

       “Zari.” Blake jumped when Fen suddenly spoke. He turned to find him using the ship’s communications. “Come up to the flight deck. Take this watch.”

       Fen then stood, not waiting for a reply. He grabbed Blake’s wrist, jerking him to his feet. “Got something for you. In the cargo bay.”

       Zari was just stepping up onto the platform as they left, and Fen looked at her as they passed. Blake shook his head behind him. He didn’t want her telling him about Tyk’s attitude. Fen was generally a nice guy, but Blake knew he had a temper sometimes, and as nice as it was when Fen stuck up for him, acted possessive, he just didn’t want Tyk to be thrown out into space. Zari smiled sweetly at him when she read this message in his eyes.

       They were halfway down the stairs leading them into the cargo bay when Fen grabbed his shoulder and turned him so that they were facing. The stairs were slim so when he turned, they were chest to chest. “I want to do this first because once we get down there you’re going to be too distracted to pay attention to me.”

       Blake laughed and leaned back, placing his hands back to rest on the stair rail. “You’re like a little kid sometimes.”

       Fen moved closer, which only made Blake smile wider. “I like your attention.”

       “Then I’ll be sure to give it to you whenever I can.”

     “All the time,” Fen demanded lowly, his eyes going dangerously darker and sending that nice thrill down Blake’s spine.

     “Don’t get greedy.”

     Fen leaned in, dropping his hands on the rail beside Blake’s hands, trapping him in. They were so close their breath mingled. But for some reason, Fen was hesitating. “Fen?”

     “I’m worried. About you. About-”

       Blake knew what he was going to say, what he was worried about, so he immediately put Fen to rest by erasing the distance between them, pressing his lips against Fen’s. Nothing happened at first; they just stood there, lips touching and breathing in the same air. And then Blake pulled back. “Are you sure you aren’t straight?”

     Fen narrowed his eyes at the challenge in Blake’s eyes. He took Blake’s lips in clear possession. Hands tightening around the rail, he pressed completely against Blake’s body and angled his head, drawing Blake’s top lip softly but firmly into his mouth. Slowly doing this to every part of his mouth until his lips parted in a quiet pant. The small sucking kisses went on and Blake’s erratic breathing had Fen smirking.

     “You’ve never let anyone kiss you like this.”

     “What would have been the point? They didn’t really mean anything to me.”

     “Good.”

     “This is strange,” he said after another few minutes of the small, soft, and gooseflesh creating kisses. Blake had been unaware that he would enjoy kisses like these.

     “In a good way.”

     “Yeah…Not straight then.”

     Fen pulled back and shook his head. “Seriously, I want to punch you. I don’t even know how you could have drawn that conclusion.”

     “I don’t know!”

     “Blind, then. You’re blind.”

     Blake huffed and turned, walking on down the stairs. “Whatever.” Except that he probably had been purposely ignoring the signs. Fear probably had a lot to do with that. All thoughts disappeared when Fen was suddenly plastered against his back, his earlobe between his teeth; short precise nips that had Blake gasping and falling back against him. And then Fen found that one spot near the back of his neck and dropped a kiss there, half biting half licking. Blake suffered a full body shudder and his cock was no longer half hard but completely erect.

     “Good spot,” Fen murmured, filing this away too. Blake could only moan. And it was a moan of despair since Fen backed off.

     “Prick,” he hissed and stomped the rest of the way down, trying to ignore Fen’s smug chortles.

     For the most part the cargo bay was empty with the exception of five large crates sitting side by side, strapped to the floor with the Jharan mining logo stamped on each one. “What is it?” he asked, approaching the crates.

       Fen walked over to one and lifted the lid to let it fall back. He gestured Blake over. “You said you wanted a project beyond the engine.”

       Blake ran over and looked inside. He eyes widened in excitement when he saw a glyder skeleton inside. It wasn’t the one he’d been looking at; this one looked to be in better condition. “How did you know?”

       “You said something about a project and you were eyeing each and every glyder that passed us on the road. We also use glyders in my home system. Thought you’d want one once we’re there and I know you’d enjoy building your own.”

     “Wow, Fen. Thanks!”

       Fen smiled at Blake’s wide eyed stare into the crate and then moved over to remove all the lids of the strapped down crates. “I had some help gathering things. Not sure I got all you need to actually build a complete one, but if there’s anything missing, you could always get what you need on Solndaire.”

       “This is awesome! Help me get this out? I want to start studying the pieces.”

     As soon as Fen had moved back to the first crate and was within reaching distance, Blake threw himself on Fen; arms around his neck and lips and tongue attacking his. Fen groaned, grabbing his hips tightly. He’d only just gotten into it when Blake pulled back, licking his lips.

     “You are a sweetheart,” he breathed before backing up and looking at the crate expectantly, attention solely focused on his project at hand. Fen didn’t mind being ignored as he unloaded the crate. In fact he grinned in a silly manner for the next few hours until Zari started teasing him about it.


	8. Chapter 8

**8**

“Are you actually going to start working on the glyder or are you going to spend all your time polishing the pieces? It’s been two days since we left Jharan. And you’re a genius, Blake, so I know it’s not because you don’t have an idea where to start.”

         Blake didn’t even look up from where he sat Indian style, a pile of cloths next to him and a cloth in one hand. The other hand holding one of the items of junk Fen had gathered for him. “I’m not a genius.”

     “You’re an Earthling and you fixed my ship,” Fen replied and his tone suggested that was all there was to that.

     “With unfamiliar machinery, I always work better with clean things… or as clean as I can get it.”

     Fen shook his head and sat down next to him. He leaned over and grabbed the tone pad. “But, it’s been two days….” He found a song he wanted and chose it.

     Blake glared at Fen when his song was cut off to be replaced by a song he couldn’t stand and one that was Fen’s favorites. “I also learn a lot about the piece when I’m cleaning it,” he gritted out. “There’s this thing called familiarization.”

     Fen snorted at the slightly condescending tone. He shot an easy grin at the mechanic. “Your subtle push is not so subtle.”

       Blake blew out a breath and shook his head, though his eyes were lit with amusement. “You are the pilot and the captain. This is _your_ ship. Learn it.”

     Fen shifted; dropping his hands back and reclining. “I’m as useless with engineering as I am with cooking.”

     “Getting a spaceship license has to be way harder than getting a car license.”

     “That’s true. They test you on everything. They test you on how well you navigate through charts. How well you build charts. How you actually fly. How well you can deal with the ship’s systems, and then… there’s the engine. That was the only part I’m sure I failed in.”

     “So how did you even get a license?”

   “Good question. I think Zarth had something to do with it—I can fly it at least!” he defended when Blake gave him a look. “At least I know my limits. I had planned on hiring a mechanic and someone who can cook when I got back. But there’s no need for that now and I’m relieved because I didn’t like the thought of having strangers on her.”

       Blake dropped the greasy block shaped metal in his lap and spun around to fully face his boyfriend. “You were going to hire a mechanic and a cook? Just like that?”

     Fen nodded. “Only called on when I plan to fly my ship. That’s less than I like…”

     “So is that something you do regularly? Hire on help when needed?”

     “Not… exactly.”

     Blake narrowed his eyes and Fen looked away. The guy was completely transparent. At least when it involved pretending nothing else had to be said. The nerves in Fen’s eyes were clear. Blake occupied his hands again, eyes solely on the piece of glyder in his lap. It wasn’t really that big of a deal, being able to hire someone. But the casual way of saying it raised more flags. It was an add-on to the fact apparently Zarth had some type of power to be able to insure Fen got his flying license, no matter if he passed the tests or not. Blake thought about something else Fen had told him once. About his parents. Something about his parents going away a lot and Zarth assuming power while they were gone. The words ‘assuming power’ jumped out at him. _That’s not normal._

     “What do you do when you can’t fly your own ship? Why can’t you go whenever you want? Wherever you want?”

       “Usually I’m forced on the family transport. And I usually never want to go where we’re going. Never my choice. I… I work for the family.”

       Blake peeked at his boyfriend though his lashes and smiled a little. _Fen, you adorable idiot. When are you going to tell me the whole truth?_ Fen was clearly trying to keep a secret and yet every time he opened his mouth, he spilled more and more clues. Was he doing it on purpose? Blake didn’t think so. He was pretty sure Fen just didn’t want to keep things from him and was battling with himself. For this, Blake didn’t feel like Fen’s keeping secrets was betrayal. He figured Fen was just worried. Fen always had reasons, even when it seemed he was just being a goof ball. Blake didn’t know what to say to this so he said what he always did when he was thinking. “Huh.”

     He didn’t see Fen move, but Fen’s lips were suddenly pressing against his fond smile. Blake dropped his project in his lap and leaned forward without hesitation, pressing his hands against the floor for balance. As soon as he parted his lips, a hand cupped the back of his head and a hot wet tongue swept into his mouth. Fen then slid closer and locked his arm straight so that he sat taller and had better access to his mouth.

     He tipped his head back, eager for the changed position. As their tongues brushed and Fen stole his ability to breathe, Blake’s fingers curled against the floor in frustration. He wanted to touch Fen but his fingers were covered in grease. Thoughts like that disappeared when Fen’s arm went around his waist and jerked him up to that they were both on their knees and chest to chest. Now they were pressed against each other so it was okay he couldn’t use his hands. He could still use the rest of his body to respond, and he started by sliding a leg over and pressing his thigh against the inside of Fen’s.

     Fen spread his knees wider, leaving a path for Blake’s thigh and coincidentally bringing Blake’s blossoming erection against his muscled thigh. Blake moaned and Fen changed from tasting his mouth to consuming it. Blake’s bandanna was ripped off, fingers dived into his hair, and a large hand had travelled down to mold against part of his ass.

     He lifted his arms and wrapped them around Fen’s neck. Fen dropped both hands to his ass, grabbed and jerked Blake’s hips into his. Blake panted and gasped into Fen’s mouth; he arched against Fen and drew the spacer’s tongue into his mouth. Sucking on it like he wanted to suck on Fen’s dick. He was pretty sure the spacer understood this too if the low needy moan and squeezing hands were anything to go by.

     His head felt light and Blake assumed it was due to lack of oxygen and since he couldn’t find it in himself to pull away, he was glad when Fen did it. Fen quickly pulled back and instantly looked over his shoulder and Blake leaned over a bit to see what Fen was seeing. It was Tyk, stopping at the bottom step on the first landing. Fen glared and the spacer shook his head and raised his hands. Clearly he hadn’t meant to walk in on them. That was all Fen needed to know. He turned right around and went back to kissing Blake as if he didn’t care a man was standing somewhere behind them and watching. After a few seconds Blake decided he didn’t care either.

     They were at it for a few more minutes until things really got intense. The touching, panting, kissing going hot and heavy. So then Blake was slightly confused and disappointed when Fen moved his hands to his hips and slowed the pace of their lip locking. The tenseness of his body clued Blake in on the fact his boyfriend was stopping them before it started into something more. The fact that Fen was probably right to stop there, and the fact that he was now horny as hell- Fen had started it!- pissed him off. He pushed Fen away and jumped to his feet, wincing when the piece of machinery in his lap fell and bounced off his foot.

     “Stop distracting me!”

     Fen smirked and turned away. “I’ve met my Blake quota for the hour.”

     Blake snorted and watched Fen jog to the stairs. “Prick,” he mumbled, palming his erection and moving it into a less uncomfortable position. He looked down at it and grinned.

     Blake wasn’t sure how long he stayed in the cargo bay, but eventually he set his project aside and left. First he went to clean up a little and change into fuck it clothes. Sweats and a t-shirt. He didn’t really feel like sleeping yet even if it was his sleep cycle, so he left again. He had stopped by Fen’s room, since it was also his rest cycle, and found him doing something out of the ordinary. Fen was actually using the rest cycle to sleep for once.

     He yawned as he walked onto the flight deck where Zari was curled up in Fen’s chair, fast asleep. He made his way to his chair and relaxed back, raising and dropping a foot on the edge and laying his cheek there so he could watch the stars go by with a pleased little smirk on his mouth. Had he focused on his reflection on the window, he would have seen how smug it was and been embarrassed. However he never focused on his face, but he did see another reflection. Tyk was standing behind his chair, staring at him.

     Blake wiped the smile off his face. “Did you want something?”

     Tyk turned away and scratched the back of his head as he sat in a chair behind Zari. The one closest to the aisle so that he still had a clear view of Blake. Tyk clearly wanted to say something but he seemed reluctant to do so. So Blake shrugged and turned back to stare at the stars. He could watch them go by and never get tired of it.

       But the tense silence got on his nerves after a while. “How long have you known Zari?” he finally asked.

       “Bout two years.” Blake was surprised Tyk answered immediately and with no hesitation. “We got into some trouble along with Jax and helped each other out. Since then me and Zari have been close. She’s good people.”

     “Pirate trouble?”

       Tyk snorted out a laugh and shook his head. “Nothing as simple. How long have you known her?”

     “A week.”

       “And her brother?”

       “Technically I’ve known him about four months. We’ve been more than strangers for two, I guess.”

       “Only friends?” Tyk asked, an eyebrow raised with the message, ‘come on, I did see you.’

       “There have been some very recent developments.”

       Tyk took it at that and shrugged his shoulders. It wasn’t a big deal to him. Blake found himself relaxing because of this lack of reaction. Tyk then looked at him for a long time before speaking again. “…I don’t like apologizing.”

       “Then don’t.”

       “I jumped to conclusions.”

     “True. But I did leave because of Fen.”

       “Zari explained. You had nothing else. I thought… I thought you had been selfish, leaving a family behind without a thought… Sometimes people don’t appreciate what they have and it truly angers me.”

       Blake looked back to find Tyk leaning back, staring at the ceiling. Blake got out of his chair and transferred to the one behind, so he was sitting directly beside Tyk with only the aisle between them. “You haven’t always been alone?” Blake guessed.

     A sardonic smile crossed his face. “You could say that.”

     Blake wanted to know the story, but he didn’t think it would be proper to ask. “How long have you been travelling around by yourself?”

     Tyk shrugged. “Eight, nine years. I do what I have to in order to get by. That’s why I needed a ride. To get to a planet being terraformed. They’re calling for workers and the pay is good. Should set me up for a while. I’m gonna try and buy a ship.”

     “Terraformed?” he shook his head when Tyk gave him a weird look. “From Earth, remember?”

     “Terraforming is when they take an uninhabitable planet and turn it into an inhabitable one. Takes a few years. Depending on how the planet is naturally formed or who it is trying to change it. Sometimes governments do it, but the one I’m aiming for is being funded by a private corporation. Always more credits when dealing with the private corporations.”

     “Bet you’ve learned a lot,” Blake whispered; the idea drew a surprising amount of longing from the thought. Maybe because he’d always longed for more, more, more. More life experience. Gaining meaningful knowledge. He was already independent enough that he knew he could make it on his own. And he didn’t want to be tied down to one place forever. He wanted options. He and Fen had that in common as well.

     Tyk looked at him. “I’ve learned to be careful and when in doubt, always rely on myself. I think you might be able to relate. You were forced into solitude.”

     “Not exactly. I had my guardian. He was exactly what I needed.”

     “But you were still raised to be independent. You would understand more than most.”

     Blake agreed that that was true. He nodded before looking over at the viewing portal nearest to Zari. “It wasn’t forced really. I just don’t like people.”

     “I don’t think that’s true. You’re talking to me.”

     “You stopped being a dick. And in a roundabout way you even apologized for being one.”

   Tyk looked down. “I wouldn’t have made it this far by being nice.”

     Blake understood and this was why his opinion of Tyk had completely changed. Maybe they weren’t so different. “Um… are you and Zari together?” he asked quietly.

       Tyk looked at him. “Zari. She’s… better than me.”

       “When we get to Solndaire, are you going to leave immediately?”

     The spacer shrugged. “That’s _my_ plan but I think Zari has other ideas.”

     “It’s hard to say no to her,” Blake replied, his tone a sort of whine. Tyk laughed at him. He actually laughed and it changed his face in unbelievable ways. Made him look more approachable. He was kinda hot too when he laughed.

     “Yes, I learned that quickly.”

     “It’s the-”

     “Eyes.”

     Blake was unable to avoid a snicker. He then yelped when a hand attached to his wrist and jerked him out of the seat and into the corridor. The half naked bed-headed spacer continued to drag him along and ignored all hissed and then shouted inquiries about what was going on. On the other hand, Blake got to study the muscle play of Fen’s naked back as he walked/jogged them back to his room. Once his back hit Fen’s bed and the spacer was crawling over him, eyes dark and scary with intensity, Blake realized this was another make-out attack and relaxed, submitting completely.

      

* * *

 

Fen paused just inside the engine room, eyes sweeping around looking for the source of the voice singing along with the loud music blaring through the place. He walked around quietly until he found Blake, and then he just stood there, watching the mechanic do his thing while dancing in place.

     Blake finally turned around to move on to another section of the engine, and it was then he found Fen leaning back, watching him. He may or may not have screamed like a frightened little pansy. Blake was hoping the music had covered that noise. This thought reminded him of what he was listening to and what he’d been dancing to and his face exploded in red. They stood facing each other. Fen with a raised brow and Blake looking everywhere but at him. His face was redder than usual. He was listening to a mainstream pop song. Blake was always putting down the mainstream. But this song was a guilty pleasure.

     “It’s the beat!” Blake finally burst out and that had Fen finally dropping the condescending brow and laughing. “Don’t judge me!”

       He stepped forward and draped his arms over Blake’s shoulders. “No judgment here. You can shake that ass anytime you want anywhere you want.”

     Blake laughed. “You still don’t sound like an alien.”

     “I do it just for you.”

     The mechanic snickered, unwillingly thinking about the Bryan Adams song. He cleared his throat and pressed closer, meeting the lips aiming for his and clutching at Fen’s hips. While Fen tugged futilely at the fabric on his back, Blake’s hands slid up Fen’s sides, blunt nails scraping against his skin. He flattened his hands and slid his palms around and up his chest. Fen moaned and relaxed his own hands when he realized he wasn’t going to easily get Blake’s jump suit off; he let his hands fall and groaned in satisfaction when his palms were filled with Blake’s sexy ass.

     He flexed his fingers and Blake arched into him, a wanton moan drowning even the engine noise out. Fen hissed when his nipple with pinched between two fingers. The tempo of their kissing increased and every move made was to ease the insatiable hunger. He could take Blake here. He wanted to take him. Right here in the engine room; right up against a metal plate, and he knew he would get enthusiastic acceptance to his advancements. But he wouldn’t. Not yet. Blake wasn’t really ready for it.

   _“It’s getting cold!”_

     Zari’s shout seemed to bring Fen to his senses and he slowed his kisses and dragged his hands up to his hips and pushed Blake’s body slowly away. He did this despite his libido screaming death threats at him. He wouldn’t take that next step until he had made his point. Fen watched as Blake’s dazed eyes lifted from his mouth to his eyes. “Zari made us lunch,” he said once they were both back in focus of the time and place.

     When the information registered, Blake quirked a skeptical brow. The last time Zari made a meal, he swore it had moved. Fen tugged him out of the room before he could announce his disinterest in food and was soon being led through the ship and into the canteen where both Tyk and Zari were already lingering.

     “Blake, there you are! You’re always disappearing!”

     “It’s not that big of a ship,” he replied and sat down across from her seat. “You could find me if you really wanted.”

       Zari set a wide bowl in front of him before moving on to Fen. Blake leaned back a breath when he saw a bowl full of blue tubes. The tubes weren’t firm and flopped every which way. An orange sauce was splashed across the top with bits and pieces of different types of vegetables--that’s what he would assume since it was easier for him to eat unknown plants rather than unknown meats. He tried not to grimace at the thought while he gazed at his dinner but he swore on all that was holy if this food moved on him he would throw the bowl and contents at Zari’s face.

     He sat there for a minute, staring at his food. Waiting for it to make the first move. Beside him Fen snorted; probably because he knew why Blake was hesitating. Finally he was convinced there were no obvious live things in the dish of tubes, and the moment he had his fork loaded and lifted, he realized everyone had been waiting for him. Zari to see how the boys liked it while Fen and Tyk were going to wait and see how he reacted. They were being coward asshole spacers! Oh sure. Hide behind the Earthling. Blake glared at both of them, and _both_ ignored his look. Though Tyk looked amused as he pretended to stare at the table.

     “Go on, Blake,” Zari unhelpfully prodded.

     He was twice as wary now. If even Fen and Tyk didn’t recognize the dish Zari made, that did not bode well for his taste buds. _I’m sorry_ , he said to his tongue and took the bite. The moment the food touched his tongue, Blake went stiff in horror, though he tried to keep it off his face. He pretended to chew with a thoughtful look in his eyes and he did all that for Fen and Tyk. It was almost worth it when they finally had their own bites. They mirrored his actions, except Fen had an obvious look of revulsion on his face that he couldn’t hide until Blake kicked his leg.

       Zari didn’t seem to notice this. She was eating her dinner, making considering humming noises, happy in her own world, while the boys were getting a mouth full of NASTY. Blake tried chewing again and that nearly made him gag. He looked around, trying to figure out a way to get rid of the stuff in his mouth without having to swallow it.

       Tyk did it first. Slowly he began to move his hand away from his bowl and towards his napkin. He watched Zari’s face closely while he dragged it closer and then onto his lap. The moment Zari’s attention was completely on Fen- who was literally choking- Tyk twisted to the side and coughed loudly, quickly holding up a napkin over his mouth.

       Blake’s arm shot over the table. He grabbed a handful of napkins and dumped them into his lap. Zari was pounding on Fen’s back and Tyk now had nothing left in his mouth. He flashed a grin at Blake and then turned to Fen, who was still struggling with nasty in his mouth. Blake coughed out his mouthful just in time to hear Zari demand Fen tell her how good the meal was. For him to do that, he had to clear his mouth to speak, which meant he had to swallow.

       Under the table, Blake passed some of his napkins along to Fen. “Zari, what is this stuff we’re eating?”

       The moment she turned to him, Fen turned his head and coughed. Loudly and for a long time and Tyk started laughing again at the horror on Fen’s face.

       “What’s wrong with you three?” Zari demanded. “Coughing all over the place!”

       “Dust,” Tyk said, lifting a finger and twirling it. “More dust than usual, love.”

       Fen nodded. “The hydrofilters need to be replaced. I’ll do that after eating.”

     Blake bit his tongue to hide a grin. But soon he, Fen, and Tyk were stuck with having to endure dinner- none of them wanted to hurt Zari’s feelings by telling her the truth- and coughing randomly; on occasion, having to actually swallow the slimy tube things. They eventually ran out of napkins. By the time they split ways- the three boys running away- Blake noticed Fen was way less tense with Tyk. Maybe his boyfriend was finally seeing what he saw nearly immediately. Tyk was an alright guy. Or maybe Fen just liked the way Tyk dealt with his sister’s sensitive feelings when it came to her awful cooking.

     And because Fen no longer really had a problem with Tyk, harmony was restored and the four fell into an easy and comfortable routine as they travelled the cold expanse of space. Zari was everywhere when she wasn’t sleeping or on watch. Tyk usually only went between his room, the canteen, Green room, and the fight deck. And when Fen wasn’t flying or amusing himself with his nav charts, he was either sleeping, hanging out with Blake, or making out with said mechanic. Blake found his perceptions of intimacy changing as the days went by and Fen continued on with is sneak attacks. Making out with someone whom you have no intentions of sleeping with just yet was hot. And fun. The make out sessions tended to be teasing wars and heated conversations without words.

       When Blake wasn’t loosing himself in Fen, he liked to wander the whole ship sometimes. When he wasn’t doing that he worked on the engine or his project. The four shipmates socialized together often- though Tyk was hardly still a talker. Not that it mattered. Zari and Fen talked enough for both Blake and Tyk. It was nice, this routine. And though nothing much was being done, time passed quickly and Blake found himself having fun. Living on a space ship and journeying through space with his friends. He didn’t want it to end.

     But soon it had to. Soon his three week plus a day trip through space had come to an end. Blake woke up after one rest cycle filled with nerves. He remained on his back, staring at the ceiling with wide unblinking eyes. He hadn’t slept long; nerves making him unable to. He rubbed his eyes and frowned. If he had dark smudges, he was going to be pissed. That was not the type of impression he wanted to make to the rest of Fen’s family when he finally met them.

     Fen promised everything was going to be okay, but Blake couldn’t help but worry. From Zari and Fen’s talk, Blake suspected their parents had no idea he was coming along. In fact he was sure the parents weren’t even aware that their children were on the way home yet. What if they hated him? What if they made Fen take him back to Earth?

       Blake groaned and threw back his blankets. “Pathetic,” he murmured of himself as he climbed from bed.

     He didn’t bother to change out of his sleep clothes before leaving his room. He made his usual rounds, fixed a small oil leak, and left again to go straight to the flight deck where he knew Fen would be. Zari was there also and they were in a deep conversation and using their native language. Blake slipped into the seat behind Fen and smiled at Zari when she looked at him. He closed his eyes after she returned the smile and turned off his microtranslator. He liked listening to them. To the cadence of their speech, the way sometimes the foreign words would sound slurred, the worlds rolling off their tongues.

     He listened to them with keen ears every time they spoke the language because he wanted to learn. He thought it was necessary if he was going to be living on their planet, if he wanted an easier road to environmental adaption. In fact he wanted to learn as many alien languages as he could. He liked the way their language assaulted his ears with low smooth richness. He could even say the language was beautiful. And at times he would swear he knew what they were saying. At least some words and a few phrases. But he figured that was only his imagination.

       When he first started doing this and Fen and Zari caught on, they would switch back and forth between common and their language, maybe to help him understand or to grasp the topic. They wouldn’t tell him what they were saying unless he asked what something meant. When they spoke in their language, he knew they weren’t doing it to keep things from him, not that it was any of his business. They did it because it brought them closer to home.

     A hand passed over his knee and he opened his eyes. He looked up to find Zari passing him with a fond smile, one in which he returned. He gracefully unfolded himself from his seat and moved around to take up his usual chair.

     “Sleep good?”

     “Yeah,” he answered as he looked through the viewing portal. The ship was in a slow turn away as they approached a planetary nebula. Hydrogen and oxygen having exploded to leave behind a masterpiece of color and shape dashed across the blank expanse of space like an underappreciated graffiti drawing. This one looked like a racing track. The last one had looked like a really creepy all-seeing eye. “How much longer?” he finally asked when the nebula was no longer in sight.

     “A few hours. We’ll arrive just in time for the evening meal.” When Blake remained still and quiet, Fen rolled his eyes. “Stop worrying. Everything will be alright.”

     “How do you know?”

     “I will make it so,” Fen replied in a commanding tone that sounded so odd but also strangely natural. “And anyway we contacted Zarth. He’s the only one at home right now and I told him about you. He’s eager to meet you.”

     “You told him but not your parents?”

     “Zarth takes command when our parents are away on one of their tours. They’re at the end of this one so they’ll be home in a week.”

     Blake twisted in his seat and studied Fen’s relaxed profile. There was that jumping out at you words thing again. ‘Takes command’ was even louder than ‘assuming power’. “Tours?”

     Fen tensed and Blake was completely aware of it. “Trips. They take frequent trips, visiting other star systems and every major city in the Three Worlds and even some of the smaller cities and towns.”

     That wasn’t it. That wasn’t all, but Blake decided not to push him. “Huh.” Fen instantly relaxed and Blake rolled his eyes. “What’s your brother like? Aside from being awesome,” he ended in amusement. Fen really loved his siblings. And he looked up to his brother. Blake could hear it every time he spoke of Zarth. Blake couldn’t wait to meet this role model. Anyone who could make Fen look up to them must be an interesting character.

     “I guess… he’s a mix of me and Zari and yet a little more reserved. He’s the calm one of us. It takes a lot to get Zarth riled up. Word of warning though. Don’t EVER get Zarth riled up.”

     “And your older sister?” the sibling Fen didn’t like apparently. The only thing Blake knew about her was that she was the eldest child by six years. But he hadn’t heard anything else. Fen and Zari avoided talking about her.   
       “She’s… complicated. You know how usually it’s the youngest spoiled the most? In this case, Ferala is the most spoiled and it’s done nothing for her personality. My parents see it, and yet they don’t. She’s resentful of Zarth, Zari, and me. Always has been. She loves to cause drama. She’s so smart too. A waste,” Fen finished harshly.

     Blake frowned. Nothing was scarier than selfish spoiled _intelligent_ girls. Those were the type of Alpha females that should be avoided. They were vicious and cruel and did anything to get what they wanted and devoured anyone who got in the way. And already Ferala sounded like a bitch. “She’s going to give me a hard time when I meet her,” Blake surmised.

       Fen nodded. “Most likely. Nothing you can’t handle. But I don’t know when you’d meet her. She doesn’t live at home anymore. Not at the main home anyway. She spends most of her time in Porlsei.”

     Porlsei, Blake had previously learned, was a huge city on Solndaire that was literally nothing but city.

     “How did you survive when you first crashed on Earth? Did you know anything about the planet?”

     “Didn’t know much. I knew of it, had learned about it, the fact that Earth was a restricted planet. A restricted planet,” he went on at Blake’s questioning look, “is a planet that is basically protected by the Alliance in that it is forbidden to approach in a clear manner. It means Earth can’t be invaded and it’s strictly illegal to wave a ‘life beyond’ flag in Earthlings’ faces. So the way I came here is allowed, but if I had announced my origins to your world, the Alliance would have arrested me when they found out… if your governments hadn’t already found me. And then the Alliance would have come to… mess with memories.”

     Blake nodded. He was following along.

     “Yeah. So when I crashed here, I immediately set up the barn holograph and made damn sure no one had seen anything. After that I had to hike to the nearest city. Coincidently, I went the opposite direction of where you lived… There was something, though, that told me I should stay in the state we were in.”

     “How did you live?”

     “I said before I’m not exactly without wealth and even though credits weren’t good there, I had other things I could sell. Precious metals and rocks. I sold that. First thing I did was buy my truck. Long story short, I spent the first six months moving around, just exploring. Learning about your world. I absorbed everything I saw.”

     “That’s how you fit in so well.”

     “Partly, but truthfully, Earthen humans aren’t so different from my people. I was easily able to blend in. But after six months I was tired of it. So I moved back and settled in the city next to yours and started looking for someone I could trust to help me with the engine. After a year I decided to move on and ended up in your city. And that weird feeling came back. Like I was where I was supposed to be. And to change it up a bit, I enrolled in a school. It was actually pretty interesting. I liked it at first. I actually paid attention to classes. The math was really easy and tedious—seriously, you guys are so-,”

     “Infantile, yes,” Blake laughed. “Move on.”

     “Everything else was cool. I learned a lot about your history.”

     Blake snorted. “History is written by the winners. It’s better to research every aspect of an event. I learned so much more that way than what we did during school. And even then I didn’t always believe what I was reading. Human nature makes me cynical of school taught history.”

     “I love your way of thinking.”

     “It’s the truth. Things were and still are written in convenience with certain people’s goals and beliefs, not with the absolute truth; not with the whole picture in mind.” Fen nodded and Blake moved his head a little so that he was looking back at Fen’s profile. “How did you enroll without parents, without papers?”

     Fen turned to him and flashed a grin. “The miracles of alien technology.”

     “It’s like pulling a tooth trying to get details from you,” Blake muttered.

     “There are several devices… and one in particular that messes with memory. It’s kind of illegal to use. In that when you mess with a memory, the part you messed with cannot be retrieved. It’s also easy to manipulate the subconscious after the device is used, so I put in little helpful pushes when I went in and filled out the paper work myself, posing as a parent. I didn’t use my holographic disguise at the time and still they gave me weird looks, suspicious because it was unlikely I could have a teenage son even looking my real age. But once everything was done, I used this device to make them forget. The paperwork was done and sorted, I was enrolled, and any suspicion was forgotten. Any thoughts of following up were forgotten and I was left alone.”

     “Useful.”

     “I didn’t like to use it a lot. I have problems with messing with people’s minds like that, but it was necessary.”

     “You had to do what was needed in order to survive.”

     “I love how you understand.”

       “That’s twice now you’ve said you love something about me.” Fen didn’t reply, but he did tense a little. Blake bit his lip before finally confessing, “I don’t think there is anything you could do that would make me think less of you.”

       Fen didn’t reply right away. Instead they sat there in silence, breathing in sync. Blake eventually stood up, preparing to escape. But a hand attached to his hip on his way by. It attached and curved around to get a good hold. Blake turned and quirked a brow. Fen was staring at him and in such a way that it had him instantly nervous. “What?” he demanded.

     “I know what you’re doing.”

     “I’m going to get a drink, Fen.”

     “You’ve been asking all these questions so I would spend all our time talking while you can stay there silently.”

     “So?”

     “I know why you get quiet.”

     Blake broke eye contact. He got quiet when he was nervous or scared; or when he didn’t want to show weakness like pain or stupidity. The hand on his hip flexed and he was soon being tugged into the pilot’s chair; his skinny ass and hips settled nicely between Fen’s spread rock hard thighs. _Yeah, my life is really awful_ , he thought with happy sarcasm. He even had a little grin on his mouth by the time he was settled. It was comfortable and he didn’t even feel confined. The chair was big enough for both of them. Blake blamed his skinniness for this.

     “I wasn’t finished with my story, so you can sit here and stay quiet some more.”

     Blake dropped his head back to Fen’s shoulder. “Fine.”

     Admittedly he was comfortable and he had not one problem sitting with Fen and listening to him talk. In fact Blake thought he could probably fall asleep where he was. He’d never felt so relaxed. It was a nice new feeling. He always figured to have a relationship, sex would need to be the driving force and this assumption had always annoyed and disappointed him, but he’d never met up with anyone who’d given him any other indication. All anyone wanted from him was sex so he’d held little emotional attachment for any of his previous partners. But with Fen it was clearly different and he wondered if this was why Fen hadn’t dragged him off to bed yet when it was clear he wanted to. Was Fen trying to show him? It was true Fen was often a goofball, but Fen had the talent of understanding situations. And he understood Blake. Fen was the most sensitive jock he’d ever met.

       Fingers started running along his jaw and then over his lips. “Where was I? Right. I remained at that school for a while and didn’t have any luck finding anyone who could fix my truck. It was by accident I heard about your shop. But I didn’t hear what the garage was called. Only that it was in your city. So I transferred schools to make the search easier,” Fen went on with his story; words soft in Blake’s ear while his thumb continued to trace Blake’s lips. “I saw this kid on my very first day. Going about his day as if in a dream; ignoring everyone and smiling through the negativity thrown at him. I wondered how he did it day after day.

     “I allowed myself to be drawn into a certain circle because I knew it would give me the most power there, more maneuverability. And then I became angry when I realized the circle I was in was the one giving this guy the most trouble. They attacked him for no reason.”

     “Not without reason; I’m gay-”

     “No reason,” Fen replied lowly, firmly. “Emotions are genderless. It transcends restrictions. I couldn’t understand. Where I’m from, there are no barriers. So it was… more than perplexing. The week after I began at that school, I started manipulating them, trying to keep them away from you.”

       Blake started at this, twisting his head to stare up at Fen with wide surprised eyes. “You didn’t even know me.”

       Fen shrugged, leaning down to rest his forehead on Blake’s. “I could see what no one else could. I thought you were great. For an Earthling.” Blake laughed and rolled his eyes. And then a thought came to him.

       “Um… what did you think? When you caught me with that teacher?”

       “To be honest I wasn’t really surprised. It made sense you would go after an older guy. Even though I didn’t know you, I couldn’t picture you with any of the students. The look on his face was priceless and I knew what you had with him wasn’t serious. He looked… weak and you just stared at me, as if daring me to say something. You looked as if you didn’t care one way or the other.”

     “I was afraid you were going to run off and squeal.” Blake bit his lip and dropped his eyes to Fen’s neck. “I… I was kind of using him. I used them all.”

     “The thing is, he probably thought he was using you. Because he didn’t know you. And yet I found it funny he was the one on his knees.” Fen slid his fingers into the hair at the back of Blake’s head and tipped his face up, frowning at the apprehension still there. “You really think I would judge you for that? Blake, there’s nothing that _you_ could do that would make me think less of you. You know why? Because I understand you. I _know_ you. Why should you care about people when they didn’t care about you?” Fen’s eyes flashed with anger. “It didn’t make sense to me, even before I met you at your garage. It didn’t make sense that you were shunned for something that’s natural—not just my world, but everywhere. So I was constantly confused and enraged whenever I caught them bullying you.”

     “It wasn’t your fault.”

     “Still I couldn’t help but try and do something about it. But Christian, the little shit, he’s stubborn. The subtle manipulations weren’t working and eventually I had to resort to violence and blackmail after the last time they went after you. It would have backfired had you not come with me.”

     Blake shifted, returning his head to Fen’s shoulder. “Was that your entire motive? Your engine?”

     Fen thought about it for a minute. Not about the answer, but about how he would put it into words without sounding like a moron. “Favorite memory of Earth,” he finally declared. “The first time I went to your garage and you slid out from beneath that car. Finding out the mechanic was you. I was so surprised and excited. You had grease here and the surprise in your eyes was kind of funny.” Fen lifted a hand, sliding a finger across his left cheek. “And I had an actual excuse to get to know you. So no, it wasn’t just about the engine.”

     A low feminine laugh filled the flight deck. “Fen,” sighed Zari sweetly.

       Fen frowned. “How long have you been standing there?” he asked in their native tongue.

       “Long enough,” Zari answered as she pulled away from the doorway and went to take Blake’s empty seat. She turned and studied them. “I always knew you were a romantic at heart, brother. You should tell him. About our family and the power of the infinite universe.”

     Blake rolled his eyes. “I don’t mind when you do it, but don’t make it obvious I’m involved in the conversation with tones like that.”

     Blake was ignored. Fen and Zari were busy having a stare off. “Some people see it as a curse,” Fen said.

     “Only when the connection is a toxic one. We both know this is not.”

     “He won’t like it.”

     Blake surged to his feet. “Getting that drink now.” He quickly vacated the area, in no way wanting to stick around when they were talking with such defensive and low tones. Clearly it wasn’t a lighthearted conversation.

   Fen jumped up to go after him. He did not want to continue talking with his sister about this, but Zari shot a leg out to block his way. “It’s not like you haven’t been showing signs of it already. I think he likes it. He only allows such dependency with you.”

       “I like taking care of him,” Fen said. “I like watching him thrive.”

       Zari smiled softly. “It’s quite clear. You should tell him. He should be prepared.”

       Fen shook his head. “Zari, I love you, but I swear on the Three Worlds there is a line. This is not one of the times you can cross it and expect me to laugh about it. It’s our business, not yours.”

     “Someone might try to use this against you. He should know.”

     “I think you’re being premature.” He gave her once last glance before pushing past her.

       Zari could see he was afraid but she didn’t understand why. Blake would not have a problem with this and if Fen wasn’t going to tell him, then she would. And she didn’t care if that made her nosy. It was for their best anyway.

    

* * *

 

Standing beside his bed, Blake looked down at it, his brow furrowed with nerves as he studied the outfits he’d laid out. “What the fuck do I wear?” he hissed out. He had a feeling Zari and Fen’s family were wealthy and probably influential. The way they talked sometimes clued him in to that. Usually he wouldn’t care, but clearly this was different. Dress to impress. That was key here. He wanted to impress Fen’s family, but most of all, he felt if he were dressed to impress, he’d be more comfortable. He’d be more assured of himself. And that was also key. Taking care of himself.

     A knock on his open door had Blake turning around to find Tyk hovering just inside his room. He gave a nervous smile at the spacer. “You okay?” Tyk asked. “Heard you talking to yourself from down the walkway.”

     Blake blew out a breath and nodded. He and Tyk had talked more here and there and they were now something of friends. Blake still didn’t know the spacer’s story, but he was convinced he would get it out of Tyk one of these days. He learned other things. Like Tyk’s age. Tyk was older. He was actually two years older than Fen. Blake learned Tyk was an interesting person to talk to and he had _lots_ of stories. Blake already managed to drag out two stories of experience from the hardened spacer, and he was always left hanging onto Tyk’s every word. Once Tyk got over his reluctance, he really got in to telling the story.

     “I… I don’t know what to wear,” he finally confessed.

       When Tyk laughed, Blake realized how pathetic that sounded. But then Tyk said a surprising thing. “You’re meeting the family. It’s understandable. My opinion? Anything you wear will be okay. I’ve never seen you in an outfit that didn’t make you look good.” Blake didn’t look convinced. “Look, just think about what Fen would tell you. Go for something that makes you comfortable.” Tyk stepped back and lifted his hands, an uncomfortable smile on his face. “That’s all the advice I’m giving you about this, kid.”

     Blake stepped back and considered. Then he nodded, shot a grin at Tyk, and moved around. First he grabbed a pair of boots. The ones he’d worn on the space port. The pair Zari was in love with. He set those by the bed and then considered the trousers he’d laid out. In the end he decided what outfit to wear and so picked out a pair of skinny black dress pants, a fitted soft grey long sleeve tunic, and an old English air force military jacket. The coat was a dark rust color and hung down to the top of his thighs. It had five little shiny medallion buttons lined from the neck down to the high waist. He loved that jacket.

   “Don’t ask me if I think that will be okay,” Tyk said before he could it.

   Blake laughed and turned to him just as Zari walked in. She was actually wearing a dress. Blake had never seen her in a dress before. The new outfit made her look sweet and innocent. It was such a deception.

   “I need to talk to Blake alone for a moment,” Zari said to Tyk. The quiet spacer nodded and left the room without another word. Blake watched as she turned and shut the door.

     “What’s going on?”

     “Nothing much. I just wanted to tell you something. About my family.”

     Blake tensed. Was he about hear some sort of horror story?

     Zari laughed. “Relax, Earthling.” She moved to lean against the dresser, crossing her arms over her chest. She studied him with a smile. “I wanted to tell you something. Something Fen is afraid to bring up. He doesn’t want to scare you. But his emotions are so in the way right now that he can’t see what I see. I already know you won’t be bothered by this and I know you won’t betray Fen with this knowledge. In fact you’ll be able to protect him and yourself by knowing.” Zari sighed and looked down to inspect the nails of one hand. She began to mutter. “Stupid Fen. It should be completely obvious-”

     “What, Zari,” Blake demanded, voice coming out harsher than he intended with his rising apprehension.

     Zari lifted her pale eyes to meet his. “There’s a… _thing_ regarding our family and those we love.”

     “Thing?”

     Zari nodded. “It can be a blessing or a curse. Only time will tell. But most of us see it as a blessing. A blessing which had been placed on our family centuries ago by those of the higher planes. It can be either, depending on those involved. The thing is, once members of my family find the one, that’s it. Once we fall in love, we never go back. We fall in love once and it lasts forever and with such intensity, Blake. With obsession and possessiveness. With the burning fire of a million suns… I’m waxing poetic here, but those are the words written in the family journals. And journals aside, I’ve seen it with my own eyes.

     “No one knows why this goes on with our family,” she went on softly, stepping forward and hugging a wide eyed Blake. “It just happens. Without fail. Even the most cynical of our family have fallen under this curse/blessing.”

     “I don’t think it’s a curse to love and be loved in return,” Blake said softly.

     “No. But… think about it. For example, let’s say Fen fell in love with someone. That’s it. He’ll never look back. He’ll never stray. He’ll never want to. But what happens to him when the love of his life stops loving him?”

     “T-that’ll never happen,” Blake whispered with low trembling decisiveness.

     Zari pulled back, smirking. “I was only giving you an example. It has happened before to some of my ancestors, and that’s when it turns into a curse. Lives are ruined, broken, consumed…”

   “It will never happen to Fen,” Blake repeated fiercely.

     “Blake,” she whispered, smiling softly and soothingly. “He doesn’t need to worry about that, does he? He’s got you. Now get that tortured look out of your eyes, love, and put on something sexy so that Fen will do something embarrassing in front of Zarth.”

       “Why did you tell me all this?”

       “I think you know exactly why. I wanted to prepare you also. When we get to our home… well Mom and Dad will see, and then… I just want you to be prepared.” She cocked her head. “You’re in love with my brother, aren’t you?”

     Blake stared at her and her gaze was just as even on his. And then he turned away, but not quick enough to hide the flush on his face. Zari grinned at his back. “Have my words scared you?”

     “I’m going to try to forget about it. I don’t know where this is going to go… for Fen.”

     Zari was about to go one step further and blurt out more of Fen’s business since Blake sincerely looked like he didn’t know Fen was already in love with him- did he not get the entire message?- but she restrained. That was for Fen to tell. Instead she shook her head. “Boys are so funny.” She turned to leave. “Remember, Blake. Sexy. Put something sexy on. It’s been so long since I’ve seen Zarth laugh at something ridiculous Fen has done.”

     Blake blew out a breath when she was gone and tried to ignore his shaking hands while he got dressed. He tried keeping his thoughts solely on the task at hand but how could he ignore the bombshell Zari had just dropped on him. What did she want to prepare him for? When she said it, foreboding wasn’t the key to her tone. And yet he got the impression of past complications. Blake wasn’t sure what was going on but he was determined to solve the mystery. And he suspected he would have a lot of fun doing it.

     Dressed and mood stable, he left to meet the others. Zari latched onto his arm the moment he stepped onto the flight deck. “Perrrfect,” she whispered. “Fen will definitely look at you, get distracted, and do something embarrassing in front of everyone.”

       She was so excited about the prospect that she was practically squealing in his ear. Blake laughed aloud drawing Fen’s attention.

     “We’re about to leave hyper space,” he said without turning to face them. “And when we do, it’ll only be a few minutes before we enter my home system. Ready?”

      Blake nodded rapidly and because he didn’t verbally answer, Fen turned to look at him over his shoulder. His eyes widened and he stared. Zari smiled sweetly at her arm companion. “Doesn’t he look perfect, Fen? He’ll fit right in.”

       Fen turned away, trying to pretend he didn’t just get an instant hard on. “Y-yeah, he’ll do good.” Zari’s accompanying laughter was annoying. Blake was amused, though he was rather disappointed all Fen did was stare at him for a second. He could do so much better. He passed Zari a conspiring smirk before turning and taking his regular seat.

       Soon Zari, Tyk, and Blake strapped in and Fen disengaged the hyperdrives. The path became clear and stars were once again bright burning balls of gas instead of never ending streams of light. Blake blinked a couple of times, getting used to the sudden scene change.

   “You are going to love the Three Worlds,” Zari said to both Tyk and Blake, leaning forward and pointing towards a cluster of stars far ahead. “It’s tropic climate for most of the year on Solndaire. Warmer weathers I mean. But it can be quite chilly in the evenings… when we do have night.”

     “What do you mean?”

     “We have a lot of light on our home planet,” Fen said.

     “Your sun is bright?” Blake asked, squinting his eyes to try and see said sun better but they were still too far out to see anything clearly and Fen was purposefully not displaying the star system on the transparent vid screen.

     “One of them,” the spacer replied blandly.

       That would imply Solndaire had more than one sun. Blake didn’t pry further. He sensed Fen wanted to give him his own first impression. He didn’t want to give spoilers. So Blake did what Zari and Tyk were doing; relaxing back and watching the inhabited solar system steadily growing bigger and nearer. As his vision of the system widened, Blake’s nerves climbed. His hands started shaking, but it was so slight no one noticed it.

   This journey was about to end and his time being in close confines with Fen was about to come to an end. They would still be together but at least in the ship they didn’t have a whole world complicating the relationship. Meanwhile, while he was freaking out, Fen was sitting at the edge of his seat, legs spread out. He eyed a spaced out Blake and then looked back to the front. He started tapping his boot with impatience. They couldn’t get home fast enough.

     Blake reached over and slid his fingers over the back of Fen’s hand and between his knuckles. Fen stared at their almost joined hands. He watched Blake’s fingers lightly going back and forth against the skin between his fingers. When Fen finally turned to him with darkened eyes, Blake inwardly smirked. “Can you approach your home planet slowly? So I can see everything.”

     Fen nodded. He didn’t look away and Blake didn’t pull his hand back even though he was leaning forward in a somewhat uncomfortable position.

     After some time of the silent staring between them, Zari burst out with, “are Tyk and I going to have to put up with this the entire way in?”

       Blake pulled back and sunk in his chair, face burning in embarrassment. He hadn’t even realized he was doing it. Fen wasn’t bothered at all. He looked annoyingly satisfied. Blake was happy for the distraction when the ship was hailed by Alliance. They were apparently near enough to the system. As Blake listened, he realized it was just like customs and spaceport security. This was the first barrier to cross and Blake knew the second barrier would be when they were approaching the home planet, Solndaire.

     Once Fen had given over the appropriate information- citing all sorts of codes or ID numbers, stating the reason for entering that sector of space, and reciting who his passengers were- they were given clearance to pass. Blake noted Fen’s hesitation before reporting Tyk. He had paused and turned to look at Zari and she quickly nodded. He had then turned back and relayed Tyk’s information. Blake wondered what that was about.

     Blake straightened in his seat as they zoomed around floating space rock towards several clusters of stars and planets. One planet was _huge._ It was big and it had rings like Saturn, though this planet was mostly light green and brown in color. A lot of land. Compared to the size of the biggest sun, this planet was as big as Jupiter in relation with Earth. Two suns inhabited the system. A small one orbiting a far planet, while the larger sun orbited around the two closer planets. Blake wondered which planet they were heading for and soon it became clear they were heading for the planet below the big one. It hung under the massive ringed globe like a dial.

     It was an Earth like planet. At least from where they hovered, Solndaire resembled Earth. Blue, greens, and browns partially covered by clouds. But then as they moved closer he could finally make out differences. Less blue than earth. A lot less blue and the land masses were different. More clearly separate continents. Blake didn’t even think these were continents. They looked small enough to be islands from where he was looking. He wondered if each island was designated a separate country.

   “What’s trading like?” Tyk asked Zari.

     “It’s been really good the last five years. We expect it to get better now that the Alliance is moving back borders. We’re in one of the better sectors.”

     “Yeah, I’d heard that before.”

     “Plenty of credits to earn and you can get lost here easily, Tyk. No one will find you in this sector unless you want to be found.”

     “Zari.”

     “I’m just saying.”

     Neither Fen nor Blake moved or made any indication they’d been paying attention to the conversation behind them, but both of them were thinking the same thing. _What’s he running from?_ The air grew tense. Clearly Zari said more than what Tyk wanted said. Zari shook off the tension she caused. It was Fen and Tyk who were the most uncomfortable and just by his posture, Blake knew Fen was very angry.

     Distractions could often be priceless and when the Solndaire space authority hailed the ship, ensnaring everyone’s attention, Blake released a thankful breath. He hated confrontation and he didn’t think anything Fen might have said next would have been nice. And Tyk was giving off hostile vibes. Like he was mentally daring anyone to cross into his space or his business. So he was relieved when Fen had to be distracted by the space police again.

     Blake released another breath when they dug through Solndaire’s atmosphere and unclenched his pale white fingers from around the arm rests. That entry had been turbulent.

     “We’re landing at the private hangar so we’ll be home in minutes,” Fen announced.

       Blake was too busy leaning over in his chair now to listen to Fen; he was staring out at the window as they shot straight down towards a very lush green ground, and then they were speeding over water, hull nearly skimming the blue of a large body of water.

     “Fen, you do remember this is against regulation right?”

     Blake pulled his eyes away from the viewing portal to look at Fen. His boyfriend had that insane grin on his face again. They looked at each other and a matching grin spread across Blake’s face.

     “Zarth will not be pleased to learn you’ve gotten a demerit already. You’ve only been back in Solndaire air for five minutes! Blake, you’re supposed to keep Fen from doing stupid things!”

   Blake snorted. “Who says?”

   “I’m not going to get a demerit, Zari,” Fen announced as he sharply pulled up, the nose of the ship rising and then evening out so that they could see the land for miles. Right off the lake was a city. Clearly a city. Of gleaming metal and polished stone. “Now look, Blake. When we get home, try to keep an open mind.”

     Blake turned back to Fen and narrowed his eyes. “Why say that, Fen?”

     The disarming smile was thrown at him. It was nearly a mortal wound. “I can explain everything.”

     That was in no way an answer but it was clear Fen wasn’t going to say anything more. He was an asshole like that. But that’s okay. Blake would get him back. He turned back to the sights just in time to notice the ship was pulling away from following the lake’s shore and crossing rolling hills covered in very tall _purple_ grass.

     Fen’s home was at the top of a plateau and it overlooked the entire city. Blake’s first thought was that of a ranch. A very lavish ranch; very modern sophisticated buildings. With towers and gardens and a freaking water fall. And there were uniformed people walking around. This last one Blake noted when they quickly pulled around to a huge open courtyard. Lights all around as well as illuminated ground markings. Five exes were painted on the ground, evenly distributed and Fen was clearly aiming for the middle front spot.

       Blake sat there with his lips parted in shocked awe as they hovered over the large expanse of Fen and Zari’s home. His eyes grew wider when uniformed men and women appeared from the building very near and lined up around the landing pad. Some separated from the perimeter and moved to stand behind one single guy whose face was tilted up as he watched them descend. Looking back over his shoulder, Blake saw Tyk had the same expression of alarm on his face. Slowly he turned to his boyfriend. “Are you some sort of royalty?”

     “Something like that,” Fen mumbled.

     “Non answers, Fen. Non answers.”

       “Not royalty in the typical sense. I’ll explain later.”

       “You better, jerk!”

       Fen grinned at Blake’s indignant exclamation while Zari started laughing at the peeved off look on Tyk’s face. Clearly he didn’t like not knowing everything either.

       By the time they were landed and the ramp open, Zari had taken hold of Tyk and dragged him off the flight deck. Blake got out of his seat and backed away from the viewing port because he was still in clear view of the man with the guard power behind him.

     “My brother. Zarth,” Fen said from beside him.

     “Yeah, I figured,” he replied dryly.

     Zarth was an intimidating figure from far away, but once they left the ship and approached, Blake found him the exact opposite. Maybe it was the handsome smile on his face. The smile reached his eyes and gave him crow’s feet. Zarth and Fen shared many features, they were brothers after all, but there were notable differences. Zarth was clearly older and his features were more refined, sharper. Where Fen’s eyes were a pale blue, Zarth’s were a pale green. The most striking difference was Zarth’s height. The guy towered over his little brother.

     At the moment Zari had all of Zarth’s attention. The man had picked her up and was twirling her around. A low masculine laugh echoed around the otherwise silent courtyard. He was truly happy to have his sister back. Probably Fen too but Blake had yet to see a reaction to Fen’s presence yet.

     Blake didn’t have to wait long. Zarth soon set Zari aside and turned to his little brother. Fen never saw it coming- or maybe he did and he’d been prepared for it- but as soon as he was close enough, Zarth struck out and knocked his fist straight into Fen’s right eye. He did it all with that same smile on his face. That part was pretty awesome.

     Blake crouched beside Fen and smirked at his boyfriend. “I thought you said he was the calm one.”

     Fen huffed out a laugh. “Just help me up.”

    Zarth was still smiling and inspecting at his knuckles. “Hmm. Seems your face has gotten harder, brother.”

     “What was that for?” Fen demanded the moment he was back on his feet.

       Zarth snorted. “It was completely deserved, Fen. After two years… You’ll be lucky if that’s all Mother decides to give you when she and Father finally return home. Now come and hug me or I’ll hit you again.”

       Fen’s glaring façade broke and he didn’t hesitate to embrace his brother, coughing when Zarth’s arms tightened around him to the point of breaking bones. “Missed you, brother.”

     “Missed you too, Fen.”

     Blake watched them with a bit of detachment. He hadn’t come across many people who greeted each other so freely. A family’s love hadn’t been made clear in such a short amount of time before. At least not to Blake. He’d never really been put in front of family of any kind before. This was still new to him. But he did like how he felt watching them. And not in a perverted way.

     They separated and Zarth squeezed Fen’s shoulders before turning to the two silent men standing behind the three siblings. “Now who are these two?”

       Before Fen could answer, Zari skipped over to the two and entwined her arms with Tyk and Blake and dragged them forward. “This is my friend Tyk and this is Blake, the Earthling Fen swept off his feet.”

     “Hey…”

     “It’s true, isn’t it?” she laughed.

     Blake looked at Fen. “Actually, he stalked me.”

    Zarth turned to his brother. “Did you?”

     Fen smirked at him before motioning to Blake. “He fixed my engine,” Fen said, going back and dropping an arm over his shoulders. He yanked Blake away from Zari and led him to his brother. Blake swallowed down an inordinately large amount of nerves and extended his hand to Zarth. Okay, now he was back to being intimidated.

     Zarth’s smile widened at the telling look in Fen’s eyes and immediately took Blake’s extended hand. “You are very welcome here. Pleasure meeting you.” Blake smiled and nodded. Zarth turned to a blank faced Tyk and extended his hand. After hesitation, Tyk took his hand. “And you are also welcome.”

       Tyk only nodded and released the hand around his. Zarth went on to study the visitors. He looked relaxed but his stare was powerful and it made Blake uneasy. “So you’ve returned with friends…” he said smoothly while sharp eyes studied Blake more than Tyk.

     Clearly he was prompting for more. Zari cleared his throat. “Tyk’s going to stay here for a while.”

     Tyk’s attention snapped to her. “I didn’t agree to that.”

     “You said you would stay!”

     “For a night, maybe.”

      “That’s not what we agreed on.”

     “I didn’t really agree to stay at all!”

     Zarth’s attention lingered on them; sharp eyes taking in a more solid look of Tyk while he was distracted with Zari. Zarth concluded Zari’s friend looked like a typical spacer and yet Zari was a magnet for chaos. Nothing typical caught her attention, so Zarth mentally promised to keep a close eye on her spacer friend for a few days to make sure he wouldn’t cause his little sister problems.

     Zarth turned back to Fen and Blake, both who were watching Tyk in surprise. The spacer was really into the argument and Blake hadn’t heard him use so many words in one setting before. “Fen?”

     Fen shifted, took a breath, and then met his brother’s gaze firmly. “Blake is going to live here. I ask that you let it rest until we can talk in private, Zarth.”

     Zarth’s eyes went back to Blake, who stared back blankly, resisting the urge to lean into the man beside him. Not only were Zarth’s eyes powerful, but the way Fen was submitting to his brother had Blake thinking this guy had power aside from having only a commanding presence. Maybe high political standing? A high figure for sure. Just what had Fen not told him yet?

     Only a breath of moment passed before Zarth’s eyes were back to smiling, making the smile on his mouth more natural, genuine. “Of course, Fen. Your guests are welcome. However,” Zarth’s tone went firm and quiet, though the four could still here him, “Blake is _not_ from Earth. Do not let this information be known until we know it is safe for him.” Fen, Zari, and Tyk nodded; Blake blew out a tiny breath and Fen’s fingers curled around his wrist. “We will adjourn inside.”

     Zarth turned and Zari hurried after him, dragging a brooding Tyk with her. Fen took one step before his hand was jerked back. Blake twisted his wrist out of Fen’s grip and ran back into the ship. Having an idea of what he was doing, Fen followed after and caught up with him in the cargo bay. He shoved Blake aside when it was apparent his boyfriend’s hands weren’t steady enough to unstrap his toolbox from the table.

       “Holy shit!” Blake finally burst out. “You could have warned me your brother is a scary bastard!”

       Fen grabbed the toolbox and turned to him with a weird look. “Scary?”

     “Don’t give me that look! You’re full of shit if you say he doesn’t intimidate you!”

     “Scary and intimidating are two very different things.”

     “Whatever… not.”

     As they walked back into the lower corridor, side by side, Blake looked over at an amused Fen. “Jock,” he muttered. Fen laughed. “I can carry my own _books_.”

       “You’ll have trouble enough walking on your own. You don’t need the extra weight right now.” Fen said this even as he tossed an arm around Blake’s waist. “Your legs are going to feel like stone by the time we get inside.”

     “I haven’t felt any differences yet.”

   “Trust me, baby. You will.”

       Blake went quiet after that only because he saw the row of soldiers standing just outside the ship ramp, forming a man made aisle. And as Fen and Blake walked back towards the lavish domicile, the soldiers marched along the path with them. Blake turned to Fen and glared at him. Non stop.

     Fen’s eyes flickered to him and then back in front. His grin was sheepish. “Soon.”

     “If I had any fighting skills whatsoever, I would kick your ass right now!”

     Several of the soldiers walking directly beside them coughed and one even tripped over his feet upon Blake’s exclamation. Clearly they were unused to people talking that way with Fen, and probably the rest of his family. This only irritated Blake further and Fen knew it, which was why his sheepish grin dissolved into a grimace.

   “Swear I would kick your ass if I could.” Fen opened his mouth to no doubt defend himself. “Say it’s not a big deal. I dare you.”

     Fen’s mouth snapped shut and they walked the rest of the way to the pale blue sliding doors in silence.


	9. Chapter 9

**9**

They weren’t halfway to the door before Blake began to feel the effects of this planet’s gravity and by the time they were inside, he was leaning heavily against Fen’s side and breathing was a chore. His legs, arms, and even his head felt full of cement. Every step was a challenge. And as his breathing picked up and heart raced with exertion, Blake hoped his body became used to this new gravity quickly otherwise he would be useless and miserable around here.

       “This is crap,” he hissed. “Fix the gravity, Fen. I can’t live like this.”

     Fen laughed at his absurd demand and paused to lean him against the wall. Blake pulled in a deep breath and sank down to the floor. As Fen continued to chuckle like a clown, Blake took a look around. Unfortunately there wasn’t much to see where they were. They were in a long hallway. Detailed, decorated, lined with exquisite soft material. A stream of lights ran down the entire length of the hall straight down the center of the ceiling. It wasn’t a blaring annoying light. It was soft enough not to be abrasive.

     Halfway down this hall were Zari, Tyk, and Zarth. Tyk looked over his shoulder and then backtracked when he saw Blake and Fen had stopped and Blake was doubling over into a pile of muscleless goo.

    “Hey… how come he can walk fine?” Blake demanded as Tyk jogged down to them. “That’s not fair.”

     “By now he’s probably used to different levels of gravity. He doesn’t need an adjustment period.”

       “Not fair…”

     “It won’t last long.”

       “Need some help?” Tyk asked as stopped in front of them.

       Fen nodded and they both crouched down to grab an arm each and soon Blake was sagging between them with his arms slung around each of their necks. Blake scowled at his position while the spacers looked way too amused. He did not want to be carried around like this. He turned to his boyfriend, eyes wide. “It’s embarrassing.”

       Shortly thereafter, Tyk was given Blake’s toolbox to hold and Blake found himself hoisted over Fen’s shoulder once more. After a moment full of seething, Blake decided this new arrangement was fine. The slap on his ass had no part to play whatsoever in his quiet acceptance of the new situation.    

     “Where are we going?”

       Fen didn’t answer right away. Blake wished he had enough strength to lift up and look at his boyfriend’s face, but as it was all he could do was lay over the man’s shoulder like a sack of grain. “We’ll get you settled into your room. We’ll eat there tonight so you won’t have to move around a lot.”          

       “Why didn’t you tell me this before we got here?” Blake demanded. Fen shrugged the shoulder he was thrown over.

       After huffing, Blake dug his chin into Fen’s back and closed his eyes. He wouldn’t see anything but the floor anyway unless he craned his neck. And since he didn’t think he could keep that up, he simply relaxed and waited for the ride to end. It was a quiet walk down the corridor, and the silence was almost awkward. But Blake was distracted when once they reached the end of the corridor he heard a soft swoosh sound to his left and then Fen stepped onto an opaque round platform, big enough for him, Tyk, and Blake- if he’d been on his feet- to stand together. Next second the round disk was lifting them up and he heard that same soft sound.   
     “Zari,” Fen called over to the other platform as it came to a quick stop on the first floor. This was where Zari and Zarth were getting off. “Don’t go too far,” he told her as the other platform continued to smoothly rise to the top floor where most of the sleeping chambers were located. “You and I need to have a talk. Immediately.”

     “Fine,” Zari huffed.

     And then Fen was stepping off the platform and Blake tried to squirm around and see exactly what the platform looked like. Maybe get a glimpse of how it worked. From the little he’d seen, he would swear the lift was run only on air and the ride had been so smooth…

    “The rooms are ready for your guests, sir,” someone said, and Blake tipped his head over to see a man walking along beside them now, leading them to whichever guest rooms he and Tyk were being given.

     “Thanks,” Fen answered. “It’s good to see you again, Mouse.”

     The balding old man nodded his head with a smile. “You too, young Master.”

     “Mouse, this sack here on my shoulder is Blake. He’s come to live with us.”

       “I’m not a sack!” Blake tried to twist around and hold his hand out to the nice looking old man. “Hi, nice to meet you.” His arm gave out and fell limply down before the old man could take his hand. “Sorry.”

       “Gravity’s got you down?”

       Blake laughed and the old man’s smile widened. He then greeted Tyk. The spacer only nodded a hello to the man, but that seemed to be enough. He smiled cheerfully at all of them.

       “Well it is certainly a pleasure to have you staying with us. I hope you like it here.”

       Blake was pretty sure he would. As soon as he grew accustomed to the changed gravity.

     “I like him,” Blake declared once Mouse had delivered them to the room chosen for Blake. The butler had then escorted Tyk to his room.

     Fen didn’t reply. He was too busy frowning and trying not to get too annoyed with his brother. Zarth had made sure Blake’s room was as far away from his as possible. They weren’t even in the same wing. He knew why Zarth had done it but he wondered how his brother could have seen the truth so clearly and so quickly. He had to have planned this before they landed… Zari.

       “You can put me down now.”

       This jerked Fen out of his brooding and he set Blake on his feet next to a hoverlounge near one of the four windows against the far wall. He kept an arm around Blake’s waist. “Can you stand?”

       “Let me see.” Blake took a slow shaky step away from Fen, and then another, and another. He was shaking, yes, and it was very hard to move, but he could do it as long as he didn’t have somewhere to be that was outside of his rooms. “Yeah. I’m good.”

       “Look around. Explore if you want. There’s this room and then the balcony off the sitting room and the smaller balcony off the bedroom. You’ll find a washroom there as well,” Fen said as he headed for the main door, leaving Blake standing in the middle of the sitting room, which apparently went along with his own bedroom just through that door over there. Fen paused just inside the front door and looked back. “I’ll be back in a few.”

     Blake had been making a very slow stationary circuit, careful to not fall on his ass, eyes taking in all of the room. Finally he looked to Fen and nodded. Fen hesitated just inside the door still. “I’ll be right back.”

     Blake laughed. “Go on, Fen. I’m not gonna feel abandoned unless you don’t come back at all.”

   Fen blew out a breath and grinned. “Okay, I’m going.” Yet he hesitated just a moment more.

   Blake had already turned away again and stood before the hoverlounge, facing the window. He turned his head slightly to the side. He could have been looking at Fen from the corner of his eye or he could have been studying something outside. Fen couldn’t be sure. But what he was sure of were Blake’s movements. Lifting his hands until they disappeared in front of him and then his jacket shifting. A graceful shrug of the shoulders. And then the jacket was slowly being slid off his shoulders and down his back to reveal Blake’s elegant slim frame.

       “Hurry back,” Blake said quietly.

       “Uh… y-yeah,” Fen stuttered, stumbling back out of the room. He didn’t stop staring at Blake’s back until he heard someone laugh a little ways down the hall. He forcibly forced down his raging libido and spun away to face Zari.

       Blake snickered as he tossed his jacket onto the cool hover thingy. He vaguely wondered if it could bounce but he was more focused on listening to Fen stutter and fall over his feet as if his boots couldn’t decide on a direction. He liked that he had that effect on Fen. Fen who was- putting it simply- cool. Cool and at the same time the most fun Blake had ever had. Fen was cool and fun and lovable. And it was gratifying when the man fell for his moves the way he did.

     The door slid shut and Blake turned around, taking in the room again; amazed at all the hidden alien technology and wishing desperately to be able to take it apart and see what made it work. Like the hoverlounge. It looked old, like an antique. It was ancient and a very fashionable piece, but it freaking hovered and the fact that it had working parts inside was completely camouflaged. As he went about slowly exploring his bedroom, Blake hoped Fen wasn’t being too snappish with Zari over this thing with Tyk.

     Fen was actually.

     “So you brought him here, using me to help him run away from his troubles?” Fen demanded.     

     “No! I brought him here to help him! We have to help him, Fen! He doesn’t have anyone else to help and these people after him are too much for one person! He’s good but he’s not that good. He’s exhausted already. He can’t run for much longer. He’s been running for years!”

     “Sounds to me like you’ve knowingly brought his trouble to us without warning.”

     Zari and Fen spun around to find Zarth standing in the far darkened corner. He was leaning back with his arms over his chest, watching them. It was hard to tell if he were angry.

     Zari swallowed. “Zarth. I-I didn’t know you were in here.”

     “I wasn’t at first, but I’m here now.” Zarth pushed off the wall and came to stand in front of them. Zari shifted under his calculating stare.

     “He needs our help,” she whispered with conviction. “But he… Tyk will never ask for help. It’s not in his nature. He’s been hunted for so long, Zarth. It needs to stop. We can help him. I will help him! I can’t let him go on like this!”

     “Why do you care so much?”

     “Brother, please. We have the power to help him.”

     Zarth turned to Fen and raised a brow. Fen rolled his eyes and dropped back, sprawling out in a chair. “He’s a typical spacer. He did join in on Blake’s rescue, but other than that I haven’t known him long enough to give you a decisive answer of his character.”

       “Why can’t you ask me?” Zari demanded.

       Zarth turned back to her and smiled; once again revealing the crow’s feet at his eyes. “Because, my love, you are too emotional with this. With him.”

     “It’s not like that,” she protested. “It’s not like Fen and his gorgeous Earthling.”

     “Nevertheless… I will trust your brother’s judgment on him for the time being. Now I want to know exactly what he is running from before I make a decision. I want to know exactly who we’ll be dealing with should we take on the spacer’s problem.”

     Zari nodded quickly and started for the door. “I’ve already put together some files… let me go get the disc.”

     “Do I need to be here for this?” Fen asked when she was gone.  
     Zarth didn’t answer right away. Instead he turned around and moved to the chair opposite Fen. “So,” he began as he reclined back. “You picked up an Earthling on your travels.”

     Fen frowned at his brother. “Don’t make him sound like a pet.”

       Zarth lightly laughed, though the teasing smirk had yet to leave his lips. “Not at all. I was made aware of the words you two exchanged on the way inside.”

     “Security is as prying as ever, I see,” Fen returned darkly.

   “As ever,” Zarth replied with a nod. But the smirk finally made way for a soft smile. “You will have no more complaints, Fen. I’ve seen to it. Ferala has no more control over security measures here.”

     “I’m going to want that in writing. I want her out of my private life, Zarth.”

     “The Earthling is the reason, correct?” Zarth laughed and shook his head. “I’ve never seen you so distracted. You tripped over your own feet, Fen. You’ve never been clumsy before.”

     Fen slumped forward, brushing a hand through his hair. “He turns me into an idiot.”

     “This is why you’ve brought him with you.”

     “One of the reasons. But this thing between us… it didn’t come out until after we left Earth.”

     “Tell me the other reasons,” Zarth demanded.

    “You’re not sending him back. He’s never going back. I swear on my life, Zarth-”

     “That will be unnecessary.”

     “You know of other reasons. You knew before we ever landed thanks to Zari’s big mouth! That’s why you’ve made our rooms eons apart.”

     Zarth grinned. “You must show our parents how serious you are about this, Fen. If you are committed, tradition must be followed. Are you prepared because our parents will want to move this along speedily?”

     Fen rolled his eyes. ”Yes, I know and I am prepared.” He did know, but that didn’t mean he was going to strictly adhere to all of the traditions involved in what they were talking about.

     When Zari came back in holding a file disk, Zarth stood. “You can go for now, Fen. But this isn’t over.”

     Fen slowly stood, watching his brother. “He’s staying though.”

     Zarth waited before answering. He wanted to make his brother sweat first. Fen knew without him on his side, Father might very well decide Blake can’t stay. Finally he smirked. “Yes. My vote is he can stay.”

     Fen blew out the breath he’d been holding and grinned. Unfortunately his grin turned into a disappointed frown when he found Blake spread out on his bed. He’d fallen asleep in his clothes. Fen tucked Blake properly into bed and then trudged to his room, and for the first time, realized he and Blake hadn’t slept this far apart since leaving Earth. His sleep was restless.

     

* * *

 

     Apparently Tyk could stay also since he was still there the next morning. He was there sitting next to Zari when Blake walked into the breakfast room with Fen.

   “Better now, Blake?”

   “Yeah. Odd, I thought it would be longer.”

   “It only felt like it because it’s such a strong change. But it’s one of those hit with full force and then it’s over things,” Fen explained as they sat down.

     “Handy.”

     Fen flashed a grin.

     “Blake, do you feel like going into the city today? Explore a little?” Zari asked before Fen could. “We could have dinner in town too.”

     “Yes he would. With me,” Fen snapped. Blake looked at him oddly.

     Zari pretended to be suitably insulted until Zarth appeared and then she smiled brightly at her big brother. He nodded as he went to take his place at the head of the table and looked at Fen as he sat down. Fen rolled his eyes, seeing the speculating stare.

     “I followed the rules, Zarth.”

     “Good!” Zarth smiled broadly. “And of course you explained why you must continue to sleep in separate bedrooms until-”

     “No, I haven’t yet. Thanks.”

     Blake stopped subtly inspecting the breakfast, which had been put in front of him the moment he sat down by some server who was there one moment and gone the next. He looked at Zarth and was startled to find those pale green eyes looking back at him. But Zarth’s eyes were bright with amusement and again the smile he sent Blake was genuine and it had the same effect on him as Fen’s smile had.

     He remained quiet and went on with his breakfast, keeping part of his attention on the conversation happening around the table and the other on wondering what that had been about. Why the fuss about separate bedrooms? Fen was an adult and so was he. And why were the bedrooms so far apart anyway? When they arrived Blake was aware of how annoyed Fen was about this.

     “Our parents are returning home tomorrow. I thought you might like a warning.” Everyone aside from Zarth and Tyk stopped eating and went still. Zari, Fen, and Blake shared glances and nerves. Zarth chuckled. “The looks on your faces.”

     “I thought we had a week!” Fen burst out.

     Zarth’s shrug was graceful. “The moment they were notified of your return, an immediate change was made to their itinerary. Mother and Father will be here tomorrow and they plan to stay for a while.”

     Fen dropped his elbows onto the table and started hitting his forehead with clasped hands. A litany of curses coming out of his mouth. Half of which Blake didn’t understand.

     “You really didn’t expect this?” Zarth asked, curiously.

     Fen groaned. “Did you speak to them?” he asked after a moment. “Did you speak to Mother?”

     Zarth chuckled darkly.

     Fen groaned again.

     “It can’t be that bad,” Blake said.

     “No of course it isn’t,” replied Zarth. “My brother is only concerned with Mother’s initial reaction to his returning. Essentially he ran away without a word to anyone.”

     “I told Zari.”

     “Don’t bring me into this.”

     “And I left you a letter, Zarth.”

     “How nice. A letter.”

     Fen winced. “Sorry.”

     After breakfast Fen, Zari, Blake and Zarth headed for a transport. Blake wasn’t surprised Tyk wasn’t tagging along to town but he was surprised Zarth was accompanying them. And then he realized it was because the big brother wanted to spend time with his siblings and to also show support of some kind. Fen was very quiet as they loaded the transport and traveled to town. Blake let him be since he was distracted by the landscape outside and listening to Zari and Zarth point out things to him. Blake knew Fen was stewing in his guilt about the way he left, about the worry he caused his parents. He was sure his almost lover had felt guilty before, but it was probably the first time since leaving that it had been felt so deeply.

     It took more time then Blake thought it would before they actually left Fen’s family’s property. And it was mostly empty land. But when they finally did it almost immediately turned into residential and then commercial area. Transports zoomed here and there. There were many different types of transport, though it was all around the same size; at least nothing bigger than the mulitseat transport they were in now. And there were also live animals which people rode on. They weren’t horses, but they had four legs, a long neck and long faces… almost like camels but without the humps.

     “Moolsan,” he whispered to himself, the word coming from nowhere.

     “What? Oh yes,” Zarth said when he saw what Blake was looking at. “Those are called moolsan.” And now Zarth was looking at him strangely. “How did you know that?”

     “Fen or Zari must have told me about them before.” But they hadn’t and he knew that.

     “Yes, of course.”

     Very soon after the transport pulled into a courtyard which was surrounded on all sides by buildings. Tall gleaming stone works of art and yet it looked modern. They left the transport and it zoomed away, soon being replaced by another. People left that transport and then it too left. It was a drop off location, Blake realized. No transports dallied around here. Only glyders zoomed to and fro. All the people were casually walking to and from destinations, loitering here and there to chat.

     The people here weren’t all human. There were several different species that he could see. He couldn’t wait to find out about them. It was an amazing thing seeing so many different types of peoples socializing with such ease. Laughing or arguing. Some looked like business associates, some looked like friends. Some were… lovers. He watched one couple for a moment in astonishment. A woman and a… what was that? Lizard humanoid? Whatever. It was awesome! Oh shit! And there was a male couple just over there embracing for everyone to see and no one was looking twice at them. In fact both guys were wearing wedding rings.

     “This is sweet!”

     He was not aware that both Fen and Zarth had been watching him. Fen had pulled out of his thoughts in order to see his reactions and immediately relaxing upon seeing the excitement, curiosity, and positivity entering his eyes. He felt immense relief well up inside him. Zarth had been studying Blake for the sole purpose of getting a hold on the young man’s character. His young brother was completely, immensely, and irrevocably invested in this young Earthling. It would be wise to know everything he could about him. So far he had no complaints. But he did have questions. Many of them having to do with the sometimes guarded look in Blake’s eyes. The wariness. The fright.

     “I can’t wait to take you to my favorite boutiques, Blake!” exclaimed Zari and Blake’s eyes got very round with anticipation.

     “Blake, if I could have a word with you for a few minutes—Fen, it will not take long. We will catch up with you and Zari in a moment.”

       Zari grabbed Fen’s arm and began dragging him away before he could answer one way or the other. Zarth turned and smiled at Blake. The young man had that look again. The blank wariness. Zarth motioned across the courtyard to a café. Once there he sat in one of the empty chairs just out front of the establishment. He was silent a moment until a server came to ask for an order. He ordered suan for both himself and Blake. From his studies he knew suan was very similar to an Earth drink.

     “I wanted to give you my thanks in helping my brother, Blake. Who knows how long he would have remained on your planet if you did not help him.”

     “Well, he… it turned out to be my pleasure,” Blake answered quietly, not meeting his eyes. Way too nervous to do anything else. Since he was alone with Zarth, it was back to intimidation.

     Zarth smiled. “I’m sure.”

     Blake flushed. “Not like that. We’re not like that.”

     “No?” Blake fidgeted. His eyes flicked up to meet Zarth’s for the briefest of moments before dashing back to the table. “Ah. Not yet, at least.”

      Blake was relieved when the server appeared then to serve them. He took up his cup and sniffed the contents. He took a sip and gasped in delight.

     Zarth chuckled. “I thought you might enjoy that. Quite like a drink on your planet, yes?”

       “Yeah. It tastes like tea. Thanks.”

       “We have a variety of suan trees growing in our orchards. I’ll take you there, show them to you and explain the different tastes. That way when you’re at home and in need of refreshment you know exactly what to ask for.”

     At home. Blake set his cup down and finally looked directly at him. “T-thank you.”

     Zarth pretended it wasn’t a big deal to him, but he could see how much it meant to Blake. “Another reason why I wanted a word with you…” there was that look again. He nearly sighed. This one was very mistrustful. Or at least expected the worst. “Aside from thanks I wanted to show my appreciation for the work you did on Fen’s ship.” A hand disappeared to the inside pocket of his jacket. When he pulled it out, he held a transparent disk about the size of Blake’s palm. “Payment for your services.”

     “Oh wait. I did that for a friend, sir. I didn’t… I don’t want payment.”

     “You will take this and accept it graciously.” Blake took it despite his reservations. “Whenever you need to purchase something, give this over. It’s attached to an account. I took the liberty last night of setting up an account for you. No need to worry about how much remains. You’ll always have enough.”

     Blake fisted the disk. “Sir,” he said through grit teeth. “I appreciate what you’re doing. I really do. But I don’t want to be a charity case. I don’t want to be a burden. I don’t like things just given to me.”

     Zarth raised an eyebrow. He looked amused. “Who said I was just giving you currency? No, Blake. I expect you to work.”

     “But what can I do?”

     “We have a mechanic. He’s been with my family longer than I’ve been alive. And the last couple of years he’s been nagging me for another assistant. Was I wrong in thinking you might like that job? I considered it fortunate when Fen told me of your magic fingers.”

       “You have things that need fixing?” Blake asked excitedly, already slipping the disk into his pocket.

     Zarth rolled his eyes. “Always. Things are always breaking down.”

     “Awesome!”

     “Don’t leave that in your outside pocket. Do you have an inside pocket?” When Blake shook his head, Zarth considered. “Give it over to Fen to hold for you while we’re out and keep a hand on it in the mean time. Never leave anything valuable in your outside pockets. You’ll find it gone by the time you get home. The thieves around here are skilled.”

     Blake nodded that he understood and dropped a hand into his pocket. He couldn’t help but grin, excited about the thought of having another job in a garage. Zarth shook his head. Blake was smiling like a kid, but he could also see what drew his brother to this young man. He was very likable. He also wondered if Blake noticed the attention he was receiving just because he was sitting down having suan alone with him. He wondered if Fen enlightened Blake yet.

    

* * *

 

“They get along splendidly,” Zarth said sometime later to Fen, watching Zari and Blake walk ahead some ways.

     “They do.” And his voice expressed how pleased he was.

     “I’ve never seen someone so happy to buy clothes… aside from Zari, of course.” They had just left one of Zari’s favorite shops and Blake had been beside himself studying all the new designs and fashions.

     “He likes clothes. I don’t see the point of getting so worked up about it.” He lifted his hands, studying the bags he was carrying. “This is going to become a thing, isn’t it?”

     Zarth laughed. He was carrying Zari’s bags. “I’m afraid so. To be fair, you forced him to give you his purchases.”

     “Thank you for doing that. Giving him that account. I didn’t want to do it.”

     “I did figure that. He would never have accepted money from you. As it is, he didn’t want to accept it from me. I managed to get him to accept by telling him he can work with Tar’si for wages.”

     “Brilliant.”

     “Lets eat!” Zari called back. “I’ve worked up an appetite.”

     “Lead on then, sister,” Zarth allowed.

     It was way passed Lunch time and they had spent most of the day walking through the city, visiting shops, showing Blake the local government buildings, the school and library. Basically getting him familiar with sights and people. If he noticed the amount of protocol Fen and his family received, he didn’t let on.

     “Why haven’t you taken him to your bed yet?” Zarth asked quietly and snorted when Fen tripped a step.

     “Stars, brother!”

     “It’s an acceptable question considering the way you two look at each other. And since I’m in the process of making arrangements for the end of your bachelorhood, I must know if any complications are likely to arise.”

     “You’re just being nosy,” Fen muttered.

     “And?”

     “It’s complicated.”  
     “Enlighten me.”

     “It’s about being used and using. Of being hurt time and again. Lack of trust…”

     “I have seen his trust issues.”

     “I had to show him first… Look Zarth-”

     “No, it’s alright. You don’t need to tell me anymore. You’ve told me enough. Are you ready though?”

       “Yes I am,” Fen answered without hesitation and with such conviction that it surprised Zarth.   
    

* * *

 

Lunch was another eye opener for Blake. In regards to Fen’s family and their standing within the area. Zari took them to a place that was clearly for the wealthy though it wasn’t anything stifling in Blake’s opinion. It was comfortable. But the way they were immediately treated by the staff and by the other patrons… it was hard keeping the surprise off his face. And the annoyance. Zarth seemed to pick this up though because he was back to looking amused as the orders were taken. Fen also picked it up as he was back to being shifty as Blake allowed the spacer to order for him.

     He pushed that away for the time being and focused on his immediate surroundings. He was a little nervous but it was nothing he couldn’t ignore. While the three family members conversed quietly, Blake tapped his glass with a finger, wondering if it were actually crystal. It looked like crystal. It was beautifully crafted. And then he picked up the table cloth to look at the actual table and assumed it was wood. It felt like wood, but it was a color he’d never seen before. A deep beautiful golden pink that seemed to glow warm. He was mesmerized by the color and the craftsmanship.

     When the food arrived, the scents pulled his eyes away from the table and had his stomach growling. He was hungry and the food smelled delicious. But still he took a moment to inspect his food before actually taking a bite. He realized he was acting a little strangely, at least his actions would seem strange to the outside observer, to those not sitting with him but luckily their table was kind of tucked away in semi-privacy, afforded to them by the deep red dividers on three sides of the table. Both he and Fen had their backs to the rest of the restaurant, which probably had a lot to do with taking care of his nerves. He couldn’t’ see people and they could only see his back.

     Halfway through their meal, they were interrupted by a “stars! Fen? Is that you?”

     Fen must have recognized the voice because he went still immediately while Zari frowned ferociously. Zarth raised an eyebrow when a woman appeared beside Zarth. She smiled at those at the table and then her smile upped a notch on Fen. “It’s so wonderful to see you, Fen! Where have you been?”

     “Eifa,” the spacer greeted, forcing a polite smile. “I’ve been travelling.”

       The woman’s smile changed, turning flirty and her eyes expressed just that. When she dropped a hand to Fen’s shoulder, Blake forced himself not to bristle. “I was just thinking about you the other day, Fen. Wishing we could get together some evening, have a meal. Like old times.”

     Blake’s attention was drawn across the table when Zari made a noise. And then Zarth dropped a hand over hers and squeezed gently.

       “My schedule is full.”

       Eifa laughed. “But you’ve always had time for me and we have unfinished business, don’t we?”

       “You appear to be missed,” Zarth said to her, indicating behind to where a man and another woman stood, obviously waiting for her.

     “If you don’t mind,” Zari said sweetly, “we’re eating. You’re putting me off my appetite.”

       “Zari, you haven’t changed. Have you, dear?”

     “Call me that one more time…” Zari looked on the verge of throwing herself over the table onto Miss Eifa. Blake would have found it hilarious if he still weren’t one hundred percent fixated with the hand on Fen’s shoulder.

     “Yes, well.” The hand pulled away. “I’ll see you, Fen.” And then she was leaving and Zari mumbled a ‘not likely’ under her breath.

     “You know each other well, I take it,” Blake said after a few silent minutes when the tension seemed to have disappeared. At least for everyone but Blake.

       Fen noticed the oddness in his voice. “For a time, yeah.”

       Blake nodded and that was it. Fen looked to Zari and she grimaced. Fen wasn’t sure what the problem was. He never took Blake as the jealous type. Especially over something that happened in the past. He wasn’t even sure that’s what was happening here but something disturbed Blake. Something made his eyes go indifferent again.

       Blake didn’t speak again. He remained withdrawn and silent the rest of the meal and the entire way back home. But it was the look in his eyes that got to Fen the most. He hated that look. Once they got home, Blake immediately tried to escape back to his room but Fen wasn’t having that and cornered him in the hallway.

     “What’s the problem?”

     Blake focused on a spot over Fen’s shoulder. “Nothing.”

     “You’re going to talk to me, Blake. You’ve been like this since Eifa approached me. There’s nothing to be jealous about.”

    Blake snorted. “It’s not jealousy, I promise.”

     “But it is something?”

     “You know what, it’s been a long _enlightening_ day. I’m tired. Think I’ll go to bed now.” He turned away and was prepared to do just that.

     “My family,” Fen rushed out when Blake turned away, preparing to leave. “A long long time ago. Hundreds and hundreds of years ago. We did rule. Over the entire solar system. We ruled everything. There are still statues of my ancestors everywhere. But then the people demanded democracy, the times demanded it, and we gave it to them. So we’ve been kept in favor in history. We’re seen in favor now. We’re not rulers any longer but we have high political power still.”

     “That’s great. A nice history lesson. Would have been nice to know before coming here, though it wouldn’t have made a difference.”

     Fen narrowed his eyes. “Is this what you’re going to do every time we argue or something happens you don’t like? Close off and run away?”

     “I’m not running away.”

     “Seems like it to me.”

     “I just don’t want to talk right now.”

     “You actually think I’m going to let this go?”

     Blake felt himself getting really angry. To the point that he started to shake. It was never good when that happened. He always said and did stupid shit when got to that point. So he walked away. He knew this would piss Fen off more but it was better if they were both angry separately. Besides, how was he supposed to say what he was feeling? It wasn’t about that woman. Not that particular woman anyway. It wasn’t jealousy. But it was fear. And it was experience. And he loved Fen so goddamned much, it wasn’t fair.

     Despite what he told Fen, he wasn’t tired. Going to sleep was impossible.

 

* * *

 

“And he just… he just walks away, Zari.”

       Zari smiled softly. “Fen… I think your emotions are overpowering good sense. Think of who you’re speaking about.”

     “It’s like he’s jealous of Eifa.”

     “That’s not it,” she said with assurance.

     Fen paused in his pacing and pulled in a breath to calm his nerves. He turned to find his sister with that same soft smile. “What is it?”

     “Did you ever consider… Blake isn’t used to anyone aside from his guardian staying with him. It seems when you two made your feelings known he had not anticipated you would have had a prior relationship with someone of the opposite sex. Perhaps Blake was tossed aside a time or two in favor of a girl. Think about it.”

     “That doesn’t make sense, Zari. He was never in a relationship. Never commited to anyone. He didn’t care enough to be affected by something like that.”

     “You honestly believe that? You sincerely feel that Blake’s so cold he wouldn’t feel a sense of betrayal? You really fell for that lie?”

     “Blake is not cold.”

     “No, he’s not. Perhaps that was one of the factors that drove him to feel as he does about being emotionally attached to someone.”

     “You’re assuming a lot here.”     

     “You’re an idiot, brother. Don’t know about you but I saw the look on his face when he realized you and Eifa had been lovers in the past. It wasn’t jealousy. It was fear. It was, ‘oh this again’ resignation.”

     “Your sister is correct.”

     Fen groaned as Zarth appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. He fell back into a seat and tipped his head up to stare at the ceiling.

     “You would have figured it out yourself if you had calmed down,” Zarth went on as he sat beside his sister. “Even from the little time I’ve spent with him I have a firm grasp of his assume the worst mentality.”

     “I thought we were past that.”

     “Things like that take time, little brother.”

     “Fen, just give him a little time and then go talk to him.”

     “That’s what I was going to do.”

     Zari and Zarth shared an amused smile while Fen remained where he was, his knee jumping spastically.

     “Heard from Kessle recently?” Fen asked when his eyes landed on a framed picture set on the mantle.

     Zarth’s eyes moved to the picture, lingered there. “He’s busy with his studies.”

     “Will he come visit soon?”

     “I don’t know. We haven’t spoken in some time.”

     “Zarth-”

     “It’s very late,” Zarth said, standing. “Perhaps you should order a meal and take it to Blake. I have work to do.”

       “He misses him,” Zari said softly when their brother was gone.

     “Always.”

 

* * *

 

Once Blake realized he wouldn’t be able to sleep, he changed out of his clothes and into his jumpsuit and left his room. He managed to find his way to the garage, or whatever it was they called it, by running into Mouse and asking for directions. The elder man had gone one step further and escorted him there, while also pointing out rooms as they passed so Blake would have a relative mental map of where everything was. Mouse also asked him a lot of questions but none of them were intrusive so even though Blake was still frustrated and down about this thing with Fen, he conversed with the man. He found Mouse very friendly and funny.

      The garage was more like a hangar and it was huge, which Blake liked. Gave the place a nice open feel. One of the hangar doors was still open. It was very late, but outside it looked as if the sun was only just setting. The light filtered in to show him there were a handful of glyders and three larger transports being stored in the garage. The larger transports were enclosed and multi-seaters like the one used earlier that day.

     “Is Fen’s spaceship the only one here?” he asked Mouse. The man had come in with him. “He said there was a family craft.”

     “The larger interstellar transports are housed at the space port.”

     “Huh.”

     “Though Master Zarth does own a ship he keeps here. This way.”

     Blake followed Mouse across the garage to a door. Once through it, a smile lit his face. There was Fen’s ship and beside it was a smaller vessel. Oval in shape, very sleek, and polished to perfection. This had to be Zarth’s personal spacecraft. And then next to Fen’s ship was his glyder pieces set out neatly. This was probably Fen’s doing and Mouse said so a moment later.

     “Where do you come from, if you don’t mind me asking?”

     Blake turned to Mouse and found the man studying him closely. His hair, his face, his eyes… “Um… I’m not supposed to say. A long long way away though.”

     “You look familiar.”

     “I promise you’ve never seen me before.”    

     “I never forget a face. Ever.”

     “You’ve never seen me before,” Blake repeated.

     Mouse took it at that and nodded, though he still had that look in his eyes. “Master Zarth has given you permission to use whatever you need here. If you need something you can’t find, just let someone know. Likely Tar’si can answer any of your questions. He hardly ever goes home. He has rooms off the garage too.”

     “So I can take one of the glyders out?”

     “Yes. Do you know how to operate one?”

     “Fen showed me the basics before.”

     “Glyders are easily operated. You shouldn’t have any trouble at all. However, I must insist you tell someone if you plan to leave the property.”

     “The purple grass… is that still Fen’s property?”

     “It is, yes.”

     “Will it get darker?”

     “Not much. Not for a couple of months.”

     “Cool. Okay thanks.”

       Mouse nodded and left him. Blake turned back to his glyder. It still needed a lot of work and he needed to know how it ran. What it felt like, how it sounded. The tools he used for the glyder had been put into his tool box which sat on a bench very close to his project. He grabbed up the toolbox and turned to go back into the main hangar. He walked down the aisle to one of the glyder’s nearest the opened hangar door. He paused in strapping on the toolbox to the back when a couple of guards came into view in front of the doors. They paused also and studied him before both nodded and continued on their way.

     Blake blew out a breath and mounted the machine. It kind of had the feel of a motorcycle, length and height wise. It was a bit longer and no wheels of course. It hovered. It was easier to ride than a motorcycle as well. You didn’t have to worry about balancing and all control was based on buttons on the handles. The only thing he really had to concentrate on was steering the thing.

   He had a good memory and was soon away from the house proper and upon the purple fields. The glyder didn’t give off any kind of odor, which was cool. Especially since the grass smelled pleasant. There was a nice wind to offset the warmth of the suns. Blake frowned however when he noticed the glyder wasn’t running as smoothly as he saw others do. In fact occasionally it would make puttering noises.

     “Definitely needs maintenance,” he said to himself as he crested a hill, letting his hand reach out to run over the tall grass. It was soft.

     It wasn’t five minutes later before the glyder seemed to wheeze and then puttered to a stop. There was a moment of nothing and then it fell lifeless to the ground. Blake managed to hop off it before it touched down, though he was sure it wouldn’t have hurt him anyway. It didn’t operate that far off the ground. Despite being stranded now, Blake was excited. He was always excited when something needed fixing and he had planned to look inside anyway to see what it looked like, how it ran. He grabbed his tool box, set it beside him and opened the glyder’s top and side panels.

     “Beautiful,” he breathed just before rolling up his sleeves and digging in.

     It was maybe an hour and a half later when he heard the sound of another glyder approaching. Strange how he didn’t automatically assume danger as he had when he heard people entering the junk yard on Jharan. Maybe that’s because deep down he already knew who would be coming into view. He wasn’t surprised at all to see Fen. Maybe that’s why he came out here, to the peace and quiet. Where nothing was. Because he knew Fen would come too and they’d be alone. Away from the house and other people. He missed being completely alone with the man.

     “I broke down,” he said after some time when all Fen did after pulling up close was to lean against the steering and watch him. He wondered if Fen would understand he was speaking about both the glyder and himself. Maybe if they were still on Earth and Fen wasn’t Fen his sudden fear would have been justified.

     Fen loved him. He knew that just as much as he knew he loved the spacer. He didn’t need Fen to say the words to know.

     “Just so we are clear,” Fen replied lowly as he finally dismounted. “Gay, straight, bisexual… those concepts, those words do not exist here.”

   “It was a knee-jerk reaction.”

     “And then you walked away from me.”

     Blake mentally winced. Clearly Fen was still pissed. “I’ll try not to do it again.” He then busied himself with digging back into the glyder to reconnect a series of cables into the main circuit board. He just finished when Fen appeared and crouched down beside him. A hand landed on his neck as he pulled away from the glyder to look at him.

     “Better not.”

     Blake nodded and leaned in when Fen pulled him closer. He couldn’t touch Fen. He had grease all over his hands. Oil too, though he wasn’t sure it was actually oil. At least not the kind of oil he was used to. Fen dragged a hand through his hair and let the other run over his bare arm- he’d unzipped and had the top part of his jump suit hanging down around his middle an hour ago. Fen’s hand on his skin felt incredible. It made him ache terribly. It made him want to press against Fen and never separate. It was always a first with Fen.

     And then Fen pulled away, just like always. Blake wasn’t too bothered as it was ended with a sweet soft kiss that had his heart beating so fast and had a smile plastered on his face.

     “It’s late. I brought some food,” Fen announced as he walked back to the glyder. If Blake noticed he was walking a little stiffly he didn’t mention it. “Finish up what you’re doing and then come eat.”

     Blake was already back in the glyder’s innards before he finished speaking. Fen pulled a basket off the back of his glyder and set it down. Before pulling the blanket he packed, he walked around some, pushing down the tall grass to make a little clearing. He tried not breaking the grass and because it was a soft durable species, knew it would only need a couple of days and a nice rain for the grass to spring up again. Luckily they were in for rain by morning. He then tossed the blanket out. He sat down next to the basket and watched Blake some more.

     “Blake, about my family…” he hesitated. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to say.

     The mechanic pulled back some to toss a look over his shoulder. Fen sat across the way with his legs out and knees bent. His dark blue tunic had been rolled up at the sleeves, khaki colored trousers were very nicely fitted and those fine boots were polished to nearly perfection. “You do kind of look like royalty now. They make you dress up princely when you’re home?”

     Fen cleared his throat, lowered his head and rubbed the back of his neck. Blake grinned.

     “Why were you so afraid to tell me anyway?”

     “I know how you feel about politics, Blake. And you’re not the only one with reservations.”

     Blake considered that as he turned back to close up the glyder panels. So his family status had been a problem in past relationships. He thought of that woman, Eifa. Fen had been kind of cold to her. Zari definitely had been and Zarth had exuded displeased. Blake sucked in a breath, spun around and quickly crossed the small clearing to drop in front of Fen.

     “She didn’t date you just for a raise in status, did she?” he asked in disbelief.

     “That’s exactly what went on.”

     “That bitch!”

     The tension in Fen seemed to drain and he laughed, wrapping arms around Blake and dragging them both down to the ground. Blake lay comfortably on Fen’s chest, watching Fen’s face with anger in his eyes.

     “Stupid whore.”

     “Blake.”

     “It’s true.”

     “Things like that go on…”    

     “Yeah well, you don’t ever have to worry about that again, do you?”

     “That’s right. You’re not with me for status. You’re with me for whatever engineering I can provide,” Fen said with a grin.

     “Damn straight! By the way, can glyder’s be customized? Add-ons and different colors? That sort of thing.”

     “Yeah. You can customize just about anything. I’ll pull up a catalogue tomorrow for you to look through. It’s almost always next day delivery. Unless the parts are coming in from another system. But we have a several glyder manufacturers in the Three Worlds, so it won’t be a problem. Now come on. Get off me. We should eat. It’s late.”

     “Yeah,” Blake said as he rolled away. “It feels late. Just doesn’t look like it.” He turned his face to the pinkish sky and sucked in a breath. It was the first time since coming out to the purple fields that he’d spared the sky more than a passing look and there hovering over them was the huge planet. Clear as fucking day. It looked so close it made him dizzy, made his heart jump in his throat. For someone who wasn’t used to it, it was a scary awesome view.

     “It’ll take some getting used to,” Fen said about the light, but he probably meant everything else as well. “I know how it is. I fostered on a different planet for some time when I was a kid. Everything there was completely different than here.” He handed Blake a black canister filled with some liquid and a clean cloth. “To wash your hands. Don’t need water.”

     Blake moved away from the blanket before doing it, smiling as the grease, dirt, and oil dissolved under the liquid, coming right off and leaving his hands completely clean. He moved to sit back beside Fen and accepted the food given to him. Fen brought them sandwiches of some sort. Meat. It was good and was kind of like chicken so Blake had no problem gobbling them down.

     “I think she’s fixed,” Blake said after they were done. Indicating the glyder. He stood and went back to it. “Just need to start her up. Give me a few minutes and we can go.”

   “We don’t need to hurry. No curfews here.”

   Blake looked back at Fen’ odd tone. The look in his eyes had Blake’s pulse jumping. “Um.. okay.”

   Fen leaned forward, tossing his arms over his bent knees. Watching as Blake pulled the glyder up from its side and straddled it. Pleasure shone in Blake’s eyes when he started the glyder and it purred underneath him. It sounded better than perfect. “I fixed it!”

   Fen stood. “You had a doubt?”

   Blake shrugged and climbed back off. “I’ll be able to build my glyder in no time.”

   “This was a date.”

   Blake blinked at that. At the out of nowhere statement. “Um. Okay.”

   “I brought you a picnic.”

   “Okay.”

   Fen moved closer. “So you agree? This was a date.”

     “Yeah. Sure, Fen.”

       One second he was standing there smiling bemusedly at the spacer, and the next second he was laid out on his back over the blanket again and Fen was pressed against him, lips against his and hands roaming beneath his undershirt. Blake quickly lost himself to returning the favor; untucking the tunic and sliding his hands over Fen’s back.

   He felt incredible, Fen thought as Blake arched against him for more contact. Smelled incredible too. That damn jumpsuit, and the grease across his cheek again. And it was more powerful. The scents were more familiar, the grease and oil from his planet mixed along with Blake’s own scent seemed to be a potent aphrodisiac. And Blake’s smile, his shining eyes… there was no way he could wait anymore. He knew he had never wanted someone so badly as he wanted, needed Blake.

   This wasn’t a slow seduction, Blake vaguely thought as Fen’s mouth ghosted over his throat while his hands eagerly and very successfully pulled off his jumpsuit. It was too fast for a seduction. But Fen was touching him, igniting flames everywhere with his hands and mouth and time seemed to stand still. Fen watched as he gasped underneath him, as he moaned out his name, asking for more. Watched him with pleasure and spikes of smugness. Fen touched him and kissed him and possessed so thoroughly Blake had a feeling he was trying to make him forget about every one of his past lovers. He was very successful at it.

     And when they finally slid together, skin to skin, Blake was lost completely to the feel of the man over him. He gasped for breath as his legs were tossed over broad strong shoulders. Whimpered pitifully into Fen’s mouth when he was finally taken with one long fluid thrust. Fen’s own moan was swallowed as he moved within Blake. As he took them higher, together. Blake’s hands rose to Fen’s hair when the man groaned and dropped his face to his chest. A hand grabbed his thigh and his neck for anchor as he rode Blake deeper, harder and Blake could not contain the surprised cry escaping his mouth when he peaked and was swallowed by wave after wave of pleasure.

       “It had to be a date first?” Blake asked a very long time later where he lay on his side pressed chest to chest with Fen.

     “I wanted to take you out first. And one time was enough. I’m patient, but not that patient.”

       Blake snorted and rolled onto his back, tired eyes staring up at the magnificence of the secondary planet hovering over them like a baby’s mobile. He could honestly admit the place was amazing. He lay there on top of a hill, thinking that he felt alone with only Fen. Complete privacy. Yet at the same time, he could feel the wind and smell the rain on the air. He could also see some stars even though it wasn’t dark. He felt exposed to the planet itself. He felt connected. To this place and to Fen.

       And then he wondered if they were really alone. “Can we be seen here?”

       “There’s no visual security in this part unless an alarm has been sounded. That includes satellites.”

       Blake rolled back to him, lay his lips over Fen’s. “That was amazing,” he whispered.

       “It was, yeah.” Fen rolled back on top of him, that smug grin on his face again. “Never going to give you anything less.”    


	10. Chapter Ten

“When will they arrive?”

       “Soon after midday.”

       “I can’t wait!”

       Fen grit his teeth and tried to block out the annoying voices by hitting his forehead over and over again with his hands. His elbows were once again on the table and his hands were clasped together to hide his face from view. He was excited to see his parents again- despite the initial reaction to him being home- but he couldn’t focus on that at the moment. He hadn’t been able to focus on that at all since the previous day.

      “Fen? You can’t be that worried,” Zari said to him. “It’s not like Mother will kill you… for real.”

     No. He wasn’t able to focus on his parents return. He was focusing on the erection that would not go away. He was trying to clear his mind, trying to get himself under control. This was Zarth’s fault anyway. If he hadn’t insisted on depositing Blake to his room when they returned last night, he wouldn’t be having this problem. Because then Blake would have ended up sleeping in his bed and come morning he would have already taken Blake once. He wouldn’t be in this predicament. And why couldn’t he stop thinking about it? About Blake. About the effects they had on each other?

     _Stars. Think about something else. Something disgusting. Zari’s wormy tubes. That was gross- yes it’s working!_

     “Fen, you’re starting to worry Blake. Making him think meeting the parents will be horrible.”

     Fen dropped his arms and peered across the table. Blake was sitting opposite him, thanks to Zari being a hog again, and he was sitting there staring at Fen. Their eyes locked and Fen had to clear his throat. He knew that look. Zari was wrong. Blake wasn’t worrying about his parents at the moment either.

     And when Blake smiled that brilliant sexy smile, Fen was barely able to keep sitting down.

     “Fen, I need you to read the reports I sent to you. They need to be read before Mother and Father return home. Father will expect you to be caught up. You know he will test you.” Before Fen could reply, Zarth went on. “And I need you two to be prepared,” he said to both Fen and Blake, who gave the older man his entire attention. “They will test you both in regards of the strength of your relationship.”

     “Why? What’s that mean?”

     “Blake, I explained,” Zari answered with a quick frown at her second eldest brother. “About our family and _the one_ -”

     “Zari!” Fen burst out, shooting to his feet. “You had no right!”

     “Fen, return to your seat,” Zarth commanded and his voice instructed no arguments, “and Zari, it was not your place to tell Blake about that. But continuing on with what I was saying and with Zari’s announcement, certain measures must be taken. The well being of both parties involved, long term commitment must be proven… There is usually no delay. Not in our family.”

     Marriage, Blake realized while his eyes went huge. Zarth was speaking of marriage. He looked to Fen, who was clearly seething. The spacer’s eyes were on him. Wariness about what had just been said, swimming in those eyes. He knew Blake would immediately figure it out. Fen worried how he would react. Blake wasn’t sure what to think. How to feel. All he did know was that there was no one like Fen and he loved him. Actually, he was ready to sink his claws in for the duration.

     “Um… what exactly do you mean by test? How?”

    “This I cannot say. That will be up to our parents.”

    “Whatever it is, we won’t like it,” Fen muttered.

    “If they let me stay,” Blake whispered.

     “Of course they will!” Zari exclaimed. “They’ll love you! Won’t they, Zarth?”

     Zarth did not answer that for whatever reason. Instead he turned to his brother. “If you are finished with breakfast, I suggest you go and read those reports now.”

       Fen pushed back from the table so roughly his chair nearly toppled backwards. He shot one last glare at his sister before leaving. The fact that Fen didn’t spare him a glance as he left was unnerving. “Can I be excused too, sir? I want to work on my glyder.”

     Zarth gave a nod of ascent and Blake quickly escaped. He stopped at his room to change before heading to the hangar. Once there, he focused on his glyder and pushed all thoughts of speedy unions and parents out of his head.

     Nearly two hours past before he was interrupted. Tyk appeared, jumping up to sit on one of the smaller crates. He smirked at Blake. “Hey.”

     “Hi.” Blake wiped his hands and smiled at the spacer. “Didn’t think you were in. I know you don’t like this place.”

    Tyk shrugged. “Zari’s parents are coming in. Since I’m staying here, figured I should meet them. I don’t want to but I know Zari wants me to.”

     “Did she ask you?”

     “No.”

     “What is going on with you two?”

     “I told you it was complicated.”

     “But you like her, right?”

     “What’s not to like? She’s got an amazing body, she has smarts. She’s classy but she loves getting dirty…”

     “I guess I have to know more to understand why it’s complicated and I guess it’s not any of my business so I won’t bring it up again. They took me into the city yesterday. It was amazing. There are so many different kinds of beings! I loved it.”

     Tyk sorta smiled as he watched Blake mess with a lap full of wiring, working on untangling it all. “At least you like it here.”

     “So far, yeah.”

     “I don’t think it’s bad either. It’s just…” the spacer shrugged. “Not what I’m used to.”

     “You’re running from something, aren’t you?”

     Tyk straightened from his slouch and studied Blake’s bent head. Finally he blew out a breath. “Yeah.”

     “Is it bad?”

     “Yes. Blake, don’t ask anymore. I don’t want to get you involved in any way.”

     Blake nodded, understanding. If he pushed for more, Tyk would probably distance himself. So he got back to work and finally unraveled the wiring. After some silent moments of him trying to fit the wiring inside the inner skeleton where it was supposed to go, Tyk knelt beside him to lend a hand. Apparently Tyk knew more about engineering than Fen did.

     “Where’s Fen?”

     “I guess he’s working. Not exactly sure what he does for the family, but he was ordered to read some reports before the parents come home—oh, shit! The parents!”

     It was at that moment when some sort of alarm went off. It wasn’t blaring. More like bells. But after the bells went off, the hangar was a flutter of movement. Outside Blake could see the guards running past. Probably to line up like they did when Fen’s ship appeared over head.

     “Shit. I’m not ready.”

     “I suggest you run then,” Tyk said as they both stood, knowing that Blake had meant he wasn’t washed and dressed.    

* * *

When Blake reappeared from his rooms freshly washed and changed into a well fitted pair of black trousers, a dark tunic, and his favorite pair of boots, Fen was there waiting for him. Before anything could be said, Fen slipped his fingers into his hair and pulled him close; laying lips over his. Blake moved with him, one arm slipping around his back, the other draped over his shoulders. Their lips moved together, tongues dancing until Blake couldn’t breathe. The heated exchange was powerful and neither wanted to be the one to pull away. Blake managed to after some moments, but only because they both needed the breath.

    Fen moved back in, his lips ghosting over Blake’s. “Missed you this morning.”

    “Maybe you’ll take me to your bed next time.”

    “Count on it.”

    “They’re here, aren’t they?”

    Fen nodded. “They’ll be waiting in the main hall for both of us. I’m sure Zarth and Zari are already there.”  

    “We shouldn’t keep them waiting.”

     “Blake.” Fingers curled tighter in his hair. “You’re staying. I won’t let them send you away. Stop worrying.”

     “But what if they do? What if they really don’t like me? What if-”

     “Fuck it, Blake. We’ll take off. I’ve done it before. We’ll make our own life.”

     Blake shook his head, pressing their foreheads together. “You love your family,” he whispered.

     Fen dipped his head slightly, forcing Blake to look him in the eye. “I love you too.”

     Blake smiled that smile that made Fen both uncomfortable and feeling like a god. He cleared his throat and pulled away, though he took hold of Blake’s hand. “Yeah, so… come on.”

     In short time they were approaching the Hall. A large crossroads of sorts. Every main pathway on the main floor converged at this spot. Zari, Tyk, and Zarth were there, facing two people. A man and a woman. The man was as tall as Zarth but Diaeran was right. Fen looked remarkably like his dad. How could his guardian even know that? The woman was pretty. She had long strawberry blond hair but from where he stood just in the shadows of the hallway, he couldn’t see her eyes. They looked right together, fit perfectly. Fen’s dad was currently hugging Zari with what seemed like a death grip, but she was holding on just as tightly.

     Tyk was standing just off to the side. He looked stiff. Blake could guess why. And Fen was already out of the corridor, heading towards them. He seemed a bit stiff too. But he walked straight to his mother, who upon noticing his arrival, gasped and clasped her hands together. A huge smile on her face. But just like Zarth had done, as soon as he was close enough, the smile disappeared and she lashed out at him. Slapping him upside the head. When he bowled over, she continued to hit him over and over again.

     “Fenwyn! You wretched boy! Have you any idea how _worried_ I was? Do you? I cannot believe…” And on and on she went while she kept slapping him and Blake raised his hands to cover his mouth to keep from laughing. Fen was bent over with his arms up over his head trying to protect his face.

     “Ow! Mother! Stop! Ah-Zarth! Help!”

     “You deserve this, brother.”

     Blake snickered. She was boxing his ears. It was way too funny. The thing that didn’t make him uncomfortable about all this was the look on her face. Immense relief. There wasn’t anything sadistic about her. She was pissed off at her child for running away and since he was old enough decided to punish him for it. He wondered if she let loose her temper like this all the time. No wonder Zari and Fen acted afraid whenever they spoke about her.

   Blake moved out of the corridor then, slowly. Fen’s father grabbed his mother’s hands to stop the slapping. Taking up her hands and kissing her knuckles briefly.

     “Now then, Lynti. Is it out of your system?”

     Fen’s mother stared at her son with one brow raised. “Slightly.”

     Fen blew out a breath as he straightened. And then he lunged forward and wrapped his mother in an embrace, lifting her off her feet. As reunions go it was nice, but Blake stopped halfway there and waited in silence. Partly to give them time alone and mostly because he didn’t want to get any closer. These two people had the power to destroy his life no matter what Fen said. These two people had the power to suck away all the happiness, the energy he gained the last half year. These two people held his life in their hands and they didn’t even know it.

     And then Zarth spoke, catching his attention, making his heart hammer even more. “There’s someone else you should meet.” Apparently Tyk had already been introduced.

     Fen turned and gestured for Blake to step forward. “Mother, Father… this is Blake.” As soon as he was standing beside Fen, watching them nervously, Fen’s dad sucked in a breath while his mom gave a little cry. Her hands flashed to her mouth and her eyes widened. To Blake’s horror they also filled with tears and she stepped back. Blake took a step back also.

     Fen moved a little in front of Blake. “Mother?” he questioned with a frown.

     “He looks just like Kiira,” she whispered, turning pained eyes to her husband. And then she was rushing away and Blake dropped his forehead against the back of Fen’s neck, heart hammering. He hadn’t said one word and already Fen’s parents hated him.

    Zarth dropped a hand on Blake’s shoulder, squeezing reassuringly. His touch didn’t inspire feelings of love and protection like Fen’s did, but Zarth’s touch did make him feel supported. It gave him some comfort to know that not all of Fen’s family hated him. At least Zarth and Zari still liked him.

     “Father,” Zarth began and Blake could hear extreme displeasure in his voice. “That was-”

     “You must forgive your mother but this boy looks familiar,” Maro intoned, walking forward. Fen shifted, blocking all of Blake. He was still frowning, glaring. Fen’s father took his arm and pressed him away until Blake was left standing in front of him. “Forgive us for our reactions. Kiira was a dear friend to both of us. Her death and that of her family is still painful and you have so many of her features. Your hair especially…” Blake’s father lifted a hand, letting it hover over Blake’s hair. “Almost black that fades red at the ends…” he dropped his hand to the side when Blake stepped back, wariness creeping into his eyes.

     Fen’s father turned to his sons. He gave them a look, a silent message, and then turned to stride away after his wife. Zarth and Fen turned to him. Zarth was smiling but Fen looked worried, perplexed. But when he saw the blankness in Blake’s eyes, he draped an arm around Blake’s shoulders and drew him close, kissing Blake when he looked at him.

     “Father wants to speak with us,” Zarth reminded, looking away. When Fen pulled back, he could see his brother had soothed the Earthling only a little.

     Fen nodded and turned to Zari, who quickly rushed up and took Blake’s arm. “Come on, Blake. I want to show you the gardens. Has Fen shown them to you yet?”

     “No. Not yet.”

     “Good.” She smiled despite her worry at his hollow tone and began dragging him away. “I get the pleasure. Tyk?” the spacer nodded and joined them.

     Fen went back to frowning and ran a hand through his hair. “I promised him everything would be okay.”

     “And it will, little brother,” Zarth nudged his shoulder as they began to follow after their father.

     “But what does Dad want to talk to us about then?”

     “Your Earthling, no doubt. And about what just happened with mother.”     

     “If he-”

     “He’s not going to demand you take him back. They were just surprised. You know how much they love fosterlings. This will be no different.”

     Fen stopped walking and picked a spot on the wall just beyond Zarth’s ear to stare at. “This is different. I love him.”

     Zarth smiled. Genuinely pleased. “Yes, I know.” Then his smile disappeared. “Why did he look afraid? When it looked like Father was going to touch his hair?”

     “I’m not talking about that right now.”

   They arrived at their father’s study and waited for permission before entering. “Your mother went to rest,” they were told when they found her absent from the room. Then he turned to Fen. “Zarth has disclosed his planet of origin. What made you think it would be a good idea, Fen? To uproot him like that.”

     Fen clasped his hands behind his back. “There was nothing else to be done.”

   “So. The Earthling asks to go and you don’t even question the wisdom of it? Are you so in need of a follower?”

     “Blake doesn’t follow after Fen, Father,” Zarth began with a playful grin. “I think Fen begged him to come.”

    “I didn’t beg… out loud.”

    The elder turned to his oldest son. The glint in his eyes a clear indication that he wasn’t pleased with the circumstances and the explanations he was given wasn’t enough to placate him.

    “Father, perhaps you should step back for a time and observe the situation before you decide on the next course of action,” Zarth replied.

     Maro eyed Zarth for time. Picking apart his son’s stance and the tone of his voice; the look in his eyes, which displayed far more in his message than words did. “I will do as you suggest.”

     Beside his brother, Fen sagged in relief. He wouldn’t have to argue with his father and they would avoid a three man argument because Zarth would not have kept out of this, clearly. Zarth knew their father would see why Blake was there and why he wouldn’t be going away. He would see sooner than Fen realized because as soon as his brother was out of the door, Zarth approached his father’s view screen and spoke a command for a certain file. A window appeared, displaying a picture from one of the security feeds. Zarth played around with it for a few minutes before stopping at a certain point.

     “Never tell Fen about this,” Zarth murmured and then commanded the recorded picture to play.

     The feed he was showing was of Fen and Blake just outside of the latter’s room just before they moved to the Hall. The video came complete with sound. Zarth wasn’t exactly sure what they would see and hear, but he knew his brother would have taken a moment to reassure Blake before bringing him to meet their parents.

     Maro turned to his son once it was over. “It’s like that, then.”

     “Yes. Very much so.”

     “I take it you’ve started the process.”

     “For the most part. Fen is aware and seems to be very agreeable. But of course I wanted to wait for you and Mother. To wait and see how you wish to proceed.”

     “There’s only one clear path, isn’t there.”

     “You will like him, Father. I promise.”

     “It isn’t about me, Zarth. It’s about Fenwyn and… Blake. We’ve had dirt thrown in our eyes concerning Fen before.”

     “This is different.”

     “We must make sure Blake is up for it.”

     “I warned them they would be tested.”

     Maro nodded. “I wish to get to know him well. Despite what your mother told you, we will be leaving in two weeks time. Blake will accompany us. Without Fen. We will be gone a near three months. This will be enough time to test the depth of their commitment.”

     “Father… three months?”

     “Yes.”

     Zarth did not like arguing with his father, but he would if he felt he must. “Blake may not do well without Fen. Not at first. He’s from Earth. A civilization which knows nothing of the universe. Everything is new to him. Fen is his buffer…”

     “It’s nice to see you care for him already. You’ve always been a nurturing soul. Made clear when Kessle began his fostering with us.”

     Zarth felt a moment of annoyance, of frustration. “Think about Fen. Think about the Blessing. He will not tolerate three months!”

     “He will if he wants this match.”

     Zarth was silent a moment, reigning in his temper. “He can stay?”

     “This Blake Brennan is very welcome here. Our hearts and doors are open to him.” Zarth blew out a breath. “Now go and fetch your brother again. He should be told immediately.”

     A grimace crossed Zarth’s face as he bowed before striding out of the office. 

* * *

Blake managed to escape Zari and Tyk. Or Tyk must have known he needed time to himself. The spacer easily distracted Zari so he could sneak off. He found himself walking a path from the gardens and soon found one of the orchards Zarth spoke about. The trees were twisted and old looking; ugly. But the leaves were a bright green and gold. And the scents coming off the trees were very pleasant. Blake sank down beside one and closed his eyes, breathing in the scents. Trying to keep his breathing even and calm. Trying to keep from breaking down. As first meetings went, that seemed the worst case scenario.

     He wasn’t sure how long he sat there, leaning up against one of the gnarled trees. In fact he might have even dozed off. But his eyes snapped open when he felt something brush against his cheek. There she was, Fen’s mother. Kneeling right in front of him. He pushed back against the tree in surprise.

     “I’m sorry,” she said softly, holding up her hand. “I thought you were sleeping.”

    “No, it’s…” he coughed and looked away. Having no idea what to say. She was looking at him with such soft sad eyes and yet her lips were curved in a generous smile. And her eyes. They were jade blue. So light.

     “Blake… I’m ashamed of my behavior earlier. I did not mean to cause you distress.”

     “I must have… to you.”

     “It’s not your fault. Have you ever been hit with such emotion, so fast that you had no time to brace, just to react?” she lifted her hand again, laid two fingers against his cheek. Her fingers were warm but applied little pressure. “Kiira was a sister to me. Her son, he was dear to me too.”

    “What happened to them?”

    “It was a very bad time. A plague… and then a devastating Earthquake. What the plague didn’t kill, the earthquake did. The entire city was destroyed. Thousands upon thousands were lost forever. The plague closed all borders, making it impossible to leave or enter the city. So when the earthquake hit…”

     “Everyone was trapped. Nowhere to go.”

     Lynti nodded.

     “I’m sorry for your loss.”

     The woman stood and nodded before holding out a hand to him. Blake watched her hand; hesitated. Clearly he was mistrustful, but all she did was smile and bend down to grab his hand. “Come. We’ll go for a walk. I want to get to know you.”

     Once he was standing, she gently snaked her arm around his, just like Zari had done the day he met her. But unlike Zari, Blake could not relax with the mother. He was sure she could feel how tense he was and still she didn’t seem to care. Just kept smiling at him. He felt frustration and annoyance.

     He pulled away, facing her. His eyes were blank. “Just tell me I have to go back. Get it over with.”

    Her eyes widened and she moved forward, dropping hands to his shoulder. “Oh! You poor boy! Of course you’re staying! We wouldn’t dream of making you leave, Blake. We’ve never sent a fosterling away.”

     “I’m not a fosterling.” Whatever that meant.

     She smiled again. Her eyes bright. “No. You’re going to be family. That means more.”

     And there was that talk again. How come no one wanted to come out and say it? Marriage. He might have thought of bringing that up, asking plainly. But she grabbed his arm again and prodded him along the path, claiming she missed her gardens and would love to walk through them with Blake. He went along with it. What else could he do?

* * *

Zari winced as she stood outside of her father’s study, listening to the shouting going on inside. Most of the shouting was being done by Fen. From what she already heard, she could understand completely why he was upset.

     “What’s up?”

     Zari turned, frowning at Tyk. The spacer sauntered closer and leaned against the doorway. “Fen’s temper, that’s what.”

     Tyk straightened. His half smirk disappearing. “Blake’s being sent back.”

     “No. No, Tyk. Mom and Dad want him to stay.” She was pleased by his worry and then his obvious relief. “But, there’s this thing with us. With our family… anyway my parents are taking Blake with them on an impromptu trip. It’s going to be nearly an entire season. Fen’s not allowed to come. It’s a test for them.”

     Tyk shook his head, whistling. Yeah, Fen’s shouting made complete sense now.

     “The thing is, Fen knows he has to go along with this. There is nothing he can do. It’s for his good as well as Blake’s.”

    “Neither will see it as such.”

   “No. But Blake will learn a lot from my parents. Learn about the different worlds out there. Aside from missing Fen, he’ll love it I’m sure.”

     “When is this trip?”

     “The end of the month. That’s not the only problem.”

     “And?”

     Those pretty eyes got cold. “My sister is coming to visit. She’s not going to do anything to calm Fen down.”

     The door suddenly swung open. “THIS IS BULLSHIT! HE JUST GOT HERE!”

     “Fenwyn Galador! Where did you learn such language?”

     “Earth, Father,” Zarth answered smoothly as Fen stormed away, ignoring the two standing in the hallway trying to pretend they weren’t eavesdropping. Zarth stepped out and watched his brother stomp away, shaking his head with a smile. “Haven’t seen him throw a tantrum like that in years.”

     “What did you expect,” Zari murmured. “This isn’t fair, Zarth. You know that. What about-”

     Zarth shook his head, looking exasperated. “Blake is not a simpleton. He will fare well. This will be good for him.”

     “I know, but-”

     Their father stepped out, pinning them both with steady hard eyes. “This matter is settled. There will be no more arguments.”

    “Fine. But what about Ferala? Can’t you forbid her from coming until after Blake has gone?”

    “She is your sister.”    

    “And? She’ll be horrid to Blake.”

     “I will hear no more, Zari.” 

* * *

 

Fen found Blake in the gardens with his mother. They were sitting on a soft patch of grass surrounded by flowers and blooming trees situated near the sun baths. Thoughts of the sunbaths had him thinking of Kessle and for a moment that chased away his frustration and anger to be replaced by fond memories of his foster brother.

     He managed to look less hostile when he stopped in front of the two. Blake was sitting crossed leg in the grass with his mother beside him, her legs spread out in front of her, leaning back in perfect relaxation.

     “Fen. Come sit with us.”

     Blake gave him a questioning look. He could obviously see something was wrong. Fen sat next to him, taking his hand in clear view of his mother. “Did you tell him yet?” he demanded of his mother.

     Blake grinned. “She said I can stay.”

     “No. Not that.”

     “Fen?”

     But Fen was glaring at his mom. Her eyes were understanding, but her following words were firm. “It’s for the good of both of you. Your dedication must be proven.”

     “You mean his! His dedication! Because you know what’s going on with me. It’s too late for me.”

     “Would you want to trap him in a new life he doesn’t want or can’t handle, son? We need to know before making it final.”

     Blake cleared his throat, hoping to remind the two he was still there. They didn’t seem to hear him so he just waited for the bomb to drop. It was one hell of a bomb. A swift kick in the pants was what it was. Blake’s fingers tightened around Fen’s. Three months? Were they insane?

     “If you’re worried about Fen… I love him. I’m not some sort of gold digger,” he whispered. “I don’t even know how much gold he has... but he does have a lot of nice equipment.”

    When his mom raised an eyebrow, Fen snorted.

     Blake ducked his head. “That sounded better in my head.”

     Lynti stood then. She smiled down at the two. “I’m afraid this matter in settled. Tomorrow, Blake, we will go into the city. There are things you will need.”

     Fen watched her walk away while Blake stared at the grass in front of him. He wouldn’t mind travelling with them if only Fen could go. In fact it would be an enlightening adventure. And he wasn’t a child. He didn’t need anyone…Turning he saw Fen glaring off at the house. He traced the spacer’s features, felt his chest tighten. He did need Fen. But this was going to happen no matter what. And he could do it.

     After some time they pulled themselves up and headed back in. It surprised neither of them when they ended up in the hangar. Blake veered off to his project, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt, while Fen continued on into his ship. At a time like this, Blake wished his glyder parts were still in the cargo bay.

     It was maybe ten minutes later when Fen reappeared, stopping on the ramp. “Blake, come check the engine for me.”

     Blake half grinned and trekked on board. “You aren’t thinking of running away again are you?” he asked when he met the spacer at the bottom of the stairs leading to the flight deck. Fen’s silence on that was telling. Blake shook his head. “That’s a no go, Fen. We can’t do that.”

     “This is pointless.”

     “I think it’s reasonable of your parents to want to make sure you’ll be okay. Three months alone will give you a chance to get back into living here. Maybe you’ll discover you don’t really need or want… this after all.”

   “This?” Fen hissed, spinning around to pin Blake with furious eyes. “Is that what you think of me? You think without you around then I’ll just suddenly realize I don’t need you after all? SERIOUSLY?!”

     It was safe to say he’d pissed Fen off really good this time. Maybe he was projecting his own fears. “I didn’t mean for it to sound like that.”

     “That’s the most insulting thing you’ve ever said to me!”

     Blake could only nod because it was true. He stepped back and clasped his hands behind his back to hide the sudden shaking. “I-I’m just trying to look at it from their point of view.”

    “It’s you,” Fen replied lowly. “It’s you. They’re worried you’re going to change your mind and you’re worried I’m going to look at someone else and take off.”

    “N-no, not-”

    “Don’t stand there and deny it to my face, Blake!”

    “It’s three months!” Blake exploded. “Three months and you’ll be back here getting back into your old life…”

    Fen blew out a breath, shook his head. His anger quickly drying up since now he knew what Blake was thinking. “My life changed when I met you. There’s no going back. I’m starting a new life. And you’re in it. And that’s it, Blake.”

     “Why doesn’t anyone just come right out and say it to my face?” Blake demanded suddenly. “I’m getting so sick and tired of things being said and not said, and walking circles around me, and no one really says a thing _to_ me. I’m just from Earth! Not a newborn factory!”

    “You wanna shack up with me?”

     “My claws are already sunk into you, dude.”

     “Was that a fucking yes?”

     “Yes!” Blake snapped back without thinking. “It was a fucking yes!”

    Fen’s smirk was smug in response to the widening horror appearing in Blake’s eyes after realizing what he said. “Great. So that’s taken care of. Three months will be nothing. No changing your mind either.”

     Blake fisted his hands and stewed silently. Fen just sat on the stair and watched him. After a moment, Blake blew out a breath. “You’re lucky I feel the way I do about you.”

     “That’s why I can always push the right buttons.”

    “Prick.” Fen was looking way too cocky. “So when is your sister arriving?”

     That did it. Fen’s cocky smirk flat lined. Blake smiled and passed him up the stairs to head to the engine room. Ferala was apparently arriving the very next day. As he went on he could hear Fen banging his head against the stair rail.

* * *

 It kind of seemed rude, but no one aside from Fen’s parents and Zarth awaited their daughter at the landing platform when Ferala arrived. Fen was off doing work of some kind, and Zari and Tyk had disappeared somewhere. No one appeared to greet this woman until Maro ordered his second eldest to gather everyone to greet her.

     It wasn’t soon after that Zarth was leading four reluctant people into the corridor crossroads where Blake had finally met the parents. And there she was, just standing there. Smiling serenely. Something seemed off about that smile but Blake also realized he was probably just biased. Zari and Fen’s perceptions washing over to him. The fact that Maro and Lynti were absent now made it clear they had already greeted her, they had already probably adjourned to a room somewhere to sit and talk and take refreshments, and yet the woman had purposely moved back out into this area of the place for a grand welcoming. Kind of made Blake want to snicker at that attitude. He also thought it was fortunate he’d also already met the parents, otherwise he would have been way more nervous and scared had he met this woman first and received her reaction to the fact he was now a permanent residence.

     Because when Zarth relayed this information to her, Ferala’s eyes lit up in surprise and she quickly covered her mouth as a sweet laugh erupted. “Indefinitely, did you say? Zarth? Surely not. Have Mother and Father been asked already?”

     “He lives here, Ferala,” Fen replied firmly. “Unlike you.”

     Ferala turned to Blake again, staring at him. She wore the same smile, but Blake began to see there was nothing but ice in her eyes. “I wonder why I didn’t find out about him before. Can either of you explain that? Fen returns and not one word uttered to me. I had to hear it from Mother after her return.”

     Her soft sad insincere voice had Zari bristling. “Because nobody wanted you here! You’re a mean spiteful-”

     “Zarieth.”

     Zari sucked in a breath at her brother’s sharp voice, cutting off anything further she might have said. She had to endure Zarth’s powerful look for a moment more before he turned to Ferala; all smiles again. “Blake is a permanent resident, Ferala. These are the wishes of our parents and cannot be argued with.”

     Blake was watching Zarth with surprise. He exuded power, so they had expected he would be firm, but to actually come face to face with it and so abruptly still shocked the hell out of them. Ferala was the elder, but she couldn’t stand there and look like she held a world in her hands like Zarth did. She was intimidating but it was nothing compared to Zarth’s intimidating cheerfulness.

     Tyk turned to Zari. “Zarieth?” he teased.    

     “You forget what you’ve heard!” Zari hissed and Tyk grinned at her. The type of grin that told her he was going to do no such thing. Blake then turned to her and laughed in her face.

     “Watch your back, Blake,” she retorted before looking back at Fen, who had been unusually quiet.    

     He stood there beside them very stiff, staring after Ferala and Zarth. Ferala was hissing something and Zarth would reply in gentle placating tones. It was a normal thing, Zarth placating her. He knew how to manipulate her. Usually Ferala was good at spotting manipulation but she was unable with Zarth because she really thought he adored her, being four years her junior. But he didn’t adore her. He held fondness for his sister, but he never let Ferala push him over. Zarth played the complacent because it meant fewer complications for him and it kept Ferala distracted from pushing his authority.

   He may be younger but in no way was he less intelligent and worldly than she was. It was Zarth who ran things after their parents. Not Ferala. Because she wasn’t motivated enough for it. She turned the heir position down. For her own selfishness. Because she wanted to be absolutely free to do as she wished. And what she liked to do was flitter around the universe; her hobbies included spending credits, not working, and being a stingy psycho when she didn’t get her way.

     And Fen… well Fen couldn’t really stand her. Which was why he was barely able to keep from glaring hatefully. His older sister was one of the reasons why he took off into space in the first place. Her never ending need to butt into his business. In his everyday life. Fen never understood why she was so concerned with him. Why she bothered with him. But he could admit he would rather have her harassing him than Zari. Still, when he found out Ferala had been spying on him, having others spy on him, every minute of every day, he had lost it and he took off. Only Zarth and Zari knew why. His parents were still under the assumption that his only reason for leaving was because he needed a break.

     When Ferala went back to watching Blake like a hawk, Fen felt his hackles rising again. He knew she was going to go after his lover. But… here Fen smirked. She was going to be surprised. Blake had his own attitude and he wasn’t going to let some woman beat him down. Especially now that they’d been given the okay from his parents that he could stay. Now Blake wasn’t really afraid of anything.

     “Surely dinner is ready, Zarth,” the woman murmured as she turned away from all of them.

     “Yes. Come,” he took her arm and the two began to walk away. Zarth looked over his shoulder at his siblings, giving them a silent message. Fen sighed in resignation. He bumped Blake’s shoulder and nodded after the two.

     When Blake grabbed up his hand, the brunet smirked at him. “I can take her on,” he murmured and a little bit more tension released from Fen’s shoulders.

     And then Fen wanted to laugh insanely when after everyone was seated at the dinner table, including Blake- Tyk disappeared again- and Lynti demanded Blake sit next to her for the sole purpose of being able to speak to him during the meal, Ferala’s face tightened and her eyes widened in supreme surprise. Then she looked like she had swallowed one of Zari’s blue tube things.

     She honestly hadn’t realized or believed it was like that. That Blake had truly been accepted into the family that quickly. Honestly Fen wanted to laugh but all he could really do was smile widely from his family’s actions, not really caring about Ferala at the moment. Blake looked shy and his eyes expressed his pleasure from this silent support and acceptance. Looking beside him, Fen shared a smile with his younger sister. Zarth was looking down the table at Blake and his mother; he was also smiling a fond smile.

    Ferala turned to Zarth. “Have you heard? Zoran has declared war against the Tauri and all Tauri allies. Apparently the first attack was a blood bath. It’s safe to say The Three Worlds will be drawn into this conflict.”

     Trust Ferala, Fen thought with bitterness as the lighthearted atmosphere diminished at that statement.

     Blake leaned towards Lynti. “What’s that mean?” he whispered.

     “War, dear boy,” Ferala answered, smiling that same cold smile. Fen was pretty sure Blake hadn’t meant for anyone but his mother to hear his question. Then he watched his lover bristle for a moment at the dear _boy_ statement. “We will probably be going to war.”

     Blake’s eyes shot across the table to him and Fen mentally cursed, grinding his teeth because he suddenly wanted to hit his sister.

     “I doubt it will come to that,” Maro intoned. “It hardly ever does. We may be involved in a few battles, but an all out war is very improbable.”

     “This is not what I’ve heard, Father. I’ve heard many of our people would like nothing more to engage the Zorans and wipe them out. They are, after all, a disgusting species. Uncivilized. They live for violence.”

     “Not unlike someone else we know,” Zari muttered quietly.

     War? Really? Here? Blake slightly shook his head. This place, these worlds he was now calling home. It seemed so peaceful he never gave that kind of thing a thought before. Though it was probably naive to think such a thing. Looking over, he saw Fen watching him. Saw the look in his lover’s eyes and understood immediately what Fen was thinking. Understanding Fen had purposely not been teaching him about certain things because he was afraid of Blake’s reaction. Blake glared at him. They would be talking about this just as soon as they were alone.

     Fen cleared his throat, ducked his head, and ate in silence. 

* * *

“Utopia doesn’t exist,” Blake started as he stripped his shirt off; his tone matter of fact. He looked over his shoulder. Fen was sitting on the bed, bent over with elbows on knees and chin in hand. He was looking at the floor. “It’s human nature to fight. Especially when you have groups. Even alien humans can’t have evolved out of that natural instinct.” Fen’s pale blue eyes lifted from the floor to look back at him. Blake shrugged and turned back to the closet.

     “It’s supposed to be better for you here.”

     Blake turned around and leaned against the doorway, crossing his arms over his chest. “Civilizations can survive,” he went on, “but chaos is needed to thrive. Anywhere anyone goes, there are going to be things that people like and things they don’t like. This doesn’t make it impossible to be happy with where you are. The things people don’t like give them reasons to stand up to or fight for. It gives you reason to do something, motivates you. If everyone liked everything there would be no advancement. And stagnant isn’t really living, is it?”

     Fen half smiled and cocked his head. Sometimes it was weird how well Blake’s words always seemed to click with him. He was not afraid to admit that Blake was the more intelligent of the two of them, even with Blake being from Earth. He liked Blake’s explanation for things. He could sit and listen forever to Blake rant and pick apart theories and beliefs and explain why he thinks the way he does and explain why others think the way they do. He may be new therefore behind in a lot of things, but when he got his ‘universe’ legs, Fen knew Blake would be the brains behind their fantastic duo. He would be the brawns and Blake would be the sexy brain. And smartass. Blake’s ass was sexy too. And he was leaning up against that doorway without a shirt and in those barely hip hugging pants…

     Fen’s eyes sort of unfocused and when Blake saw this, he dropped a hand, made sure it was eyelevel and snapped his fingers. Fen started blinking his eyes rapidly. When Fen lifted his eyes to his face, Blake inaudibly sucked in a breath at the dark captivating look aimed at him. Possessive jerk.

     He took a breath and tried to get on track, or at least get Fen back on track, but knowing that particular look, Blake knew Fen would allow his talking for only a short amount of time before one of them jumped the other. So he had better hurry and get his point across because it looked like Fen was ready to pounce. “I came with you knowing I might see some things that I don’t like. But I didn’t care because I was going with you. I’d be with you. So you can stop hiding the dark little secrets, Fen. I trust you. If things in your universe were shittier than Earth, you wouldn’t have taken me no matter how much you wanted to.”

     “I can be selfish,” Fen muttered, frowning.

     Blake smiled at him. “Not really. Not like that.”

     Fen stood. This conversation was coming to an end. “I just think you’ve only been subjected to one side of me.”

     “Which side would that be?”

     Fen slid up to him. A cocky smirk formed on his lips as he grabbed Blake’s hips and leaned into him. “The side that’s completely crazy for you. You make we want to make you happy. I’d do anything for you.”

     Blake lifted a hand, moving it around and curling his fingers into the black hair at Fen’s nape. “Putting all manly pride aside, I’m happy here. I’m always happy where you are.” He tilted his head up only a fraction and pressed their lips together; he had his tongue in Fen’s mouth before the spacer could consciously open his mouth. Fen moaned in appreciation for the dominant move. Blake pressed in further and soon Fen’s hands were sliding back; one hand ducked under his waistband while the other trailed up to trace his spine.

     Fen’s fixation of his spine had Blake melting even more into him. He liked Fen’s fixation. It had a touch of beyond intimacy and it drove him crazy with more than just lust. It was other softer enduring emotions. Fen knew this, which was why the ass was back to smirking against his mouth. Blake bit the smirk off his face by nibbling on his bottom lip and sucking it into his mouth, tongue flickering on the dry yet saliva covered skin.

     Fen groaned and flexed his fingers, grabbing Blake’s ass roughly and jerking his hips into his. It wasn’t long before he had Blake in bed and all clothing was discarded. Fen crawled in between the spread thighs; the hand in his hair tightened and jerked harshly and the thighs spread wider as Fen followed the command and quickly surged forward to take Blake’s lips again. The panting in his mouth increased and became ragged as their bodies slid together, over, against. Fire spread down his spine and into his gut when Blake started his wave grind, moving his body the way he did was one of the best erotic images Fen could ever imagine.

     Fen licked the roof of Blake’s mouth before slowly pulling away; pulling back enough so that he could look down and see exactly how that body moved for him, burned him with every movement. Hands curled under his arms and clung to the back of his shoulders, and Fen watched, entranced. Blake’s head hang back, mouth parted slightly releasing uneven breaths while his body seemed to curve, dip, and slide in all direction to keep contact with Fen’s body. As if Blake’s head wasn’t completely in control.

     Blake was completely relaxed in Fen’s bed. He let himself go completely to Fen. He became wanton and never held back. It was always a statement to Fen. No one but Fen was supposed to see this side of his lover, the hidden vulnerability. No one ever got to see this from Blake. He hid it. Even from himself. But not from Fen. Everything of himself, his complete person was bared. And Fen took it and he would keep it and hide it away from the world. This was his only. Forever only his.

     A hand dived into his hair and jerked again, forcing his face up. Blake hadn’t stopped the panting, but he was glaring. “You are not going to make that a habit in this area, are you? I mean I have to deal with it out of—a-ah!”

     Fen had begun to move when Blake first spoke and by the end had nipped up a nipple between his teeth, biting and then soothing the gently abused nub with a flick of his tongue. His hands hadn’t been idle either and one had moved to wrap around Blake’s arousal, thump flicking over the leaking head. The other moving on further, to prod at Blake and open him up. Completely committed to the job at hand; to driving Blake crazy.

     After a time Fen lifted off him, wrapping an arm around Blake’s back to lift him as well since he didn’t want to stop kissing him. Kissing Blake wreaked havoc on his system. Each swipe of tongue sent his adrenaline levels soaring sky high, every second in Blake’s taste had his mental vision dimming until nothing was left except Blake and the need to touch him. And the slide of his lips always and continuously had his cock throbbing and twitching. He was addicted to the way Blake’s kisses made him feel. This was his drug of choice.

     For a moment all he did was kneel there, cradling Blake up against him. Blake’s arm was locked around his back while the other was up, fisting the hair at the back of Fen’s head. He seemed just as unwilling to end the lip embrace. Fen’s arms mirrored Blake’s, and he tightened the grip of Blake’s pretty hair and pulled, angling Blake’s face and he dived deeper with his tongue. Devoured Blake’s mouth in hunger for his mechanic.

     Blake moaned around Fen’s obsessive tongue and arched his body, brushing arousals together. Fen ripped away from his mouth with a hiss and reattached his lips to Blake’s throat, licking at the sweat. He moved down and over to his lover’s shoulder. When he reached the shoulder, he dropped a hand to Blake’s hip and squeezed. Blake relaxed his hold and allowed Fen to turn him over.

     Blake hissed out in relief when he immediately pushed in, no longer able to wait.

     “O-oh man,” Blake breathed out, breath hitching at the pressure inside him. Fen moving in and out, deeper with each thrust. Like he’d said before. Fen’s cock was a thing of beauty and Fen knew how to use it. And then Fen grabbed his ass and started spearing into him, over and over again, and Blake thought it would be okay if he shattered into a million pieces. He was already crying out beyond control, egging Fen on, asking for more when he probably couldn’t take it.

     Fen suddenly slowed the pace and leaned over him, kissing that beautiful knobby spine and Blake squeezed his eyes closed. Being intimate with Fen was just beautiful. He didn’t like to call it just sex anymore because it wasn’t. Fen was making love to him and it sort of made him want to cry in happiness. But he wouldn’t. He did have his manly pride after all.

     Pausing in his motions, Fen took hold of him around his chest and lifted him up, holding him up against his chest and Blake braced himself away from the headboard with a raised hand. His head hang back limply on Fen’s shoulder; eyes closed and moans drawn from his parted lips every time Fen thrust into him in this position. He could feel it, the blissful end. His spine was tingling as all the fire in his blood rushed to his cock. Then Fen bent over him a little with a very hard thrust, hitting ecstasy. At the same time biting that one spot on Blake’s nape, twisting his cock filled fingers just so, and Blake was coming with a loud shuddering cry. His body went rigid as he rode out the orgasmic wave and Fen never stopped moving, not until Blake collapsed in his arms and his own completion came just moments later. They both thought they could die happy. 

* * *

Later that night, Blake rolled away from a softly snoring Fen and climbed from bed. He hadn’t been able to sleep even if Fen had exhausted him with his fantastic body. Quietly he redressed and left the room, rolling his eyes over the fact that he and Fen had to remain in two different rooms and in two different parts of the house. For ‘propriety’. The image was important, apparently, even when everyone knew they were lovers. It wasn’t that big of a deal. Blake went along with it because it didn’t keep him away from his boyfriend, and he understood tradition was important for the people of this solar system.

     “But it’s fucking annoying sometimes,” he muttered as he turned down the hall, speed walking to his room. He couldn’t see them, but he could feel the transmitting eyes on him as he moved. It still made him uncomfortable. It felt creepy to him.

     He was in and out of his own room, having gone in only to change into his jump suit. After stepping out and shutting the door, Blake turned and stood just in front of it. Eyes skimming the dimly lit meeting hall. He only had to wait a few seconds before hearing clicking of heels against the smooth floor. It wasn’t surprising when she walked out of the darkness of the far connecting corridor. Blake had heard her tailing him ever since he left Fen’s room.

     When he saw Ferala’s eyes light up in surprised understanding that he had already been aware of her presence, Blake turned around and hand locked the door. Locking it so only his hand could activate the mechanism. He turned back and leveled her with his own stare. Blake understood she was the type to think she had every right to snoop around in his room and go through his things. She couldn’t do it now, and thanks to Zarth’s new privacy policy concerning the household, Ferala also could not override his lock.

     Blake knew this would make her mad. She didn’t know him, but already she didn’t like him. Because he was new and lived there like family, was accepted like family as she witnessed at dinner, and would probably soon become real family. She did not want new members in her club. Especially new members stealing all of her attention.

     Ferala walked towards him and he could see that he had probably made her hate him more, but he didn’t care. He didn’t want to tip toe around her. This was his new life. He was no longer going to be accepting of situations. Not when it was at a cost to him. Admittedly, Ferala scared him a little. Even now he resisted the urge to cower or back away as she continued to approach him. It was really hard to keep his chin lifted and his gaze indifferent. She was intimidating. And she knew it too which was half her problem.

     She stopped only with a few inches between them. Ferala was taller than him. “Who do you think you are?” she asked in low disdain. “Who are you to think you can come here- to my home- and think to immerse yourself as if you’ve always been here?”

     “Why were you following me?”

     Ferala’s lips curled in an amused smirk, though none of that reached her eyes. She swayed a little, backing away from him and looking off in the direction of Fen’s room. “My brother. How he needs his privacy. And yet…” she laughed, a high fake _grating_ noise. “He always forgets to lock his outer door!” Suddenly she was looking at him, all fake amusement gone from her face. “And now I know the reason Fen has brought home space debris. I’m sure he’ll tinker with it for a while, but in the end it is still only trash and will of course be thrown away. Just like every one of his past dalliances.”

     “First of all,” he began lowly, trying to push down the anger and keep from punching her in the nose, “Fen’s not stupid enough to forget to lock the door while you’re here, so I know you’re lying. And secondly, Fen’s not the tinkering kind. I believe lack of that particular trait is hereditary. Probably the reason you’re the eldest and still single, right?”

     He had other things he wanted to say, but he didn’t voice it aloud. _Yeah, I can understand you. Not afraid to use it against you, either… Dude, look at her eyes. She wants to kill me. Maybe I should back away. Oh, shit! She’s raising her hands—Zarth! Thank you fucking God, it’s Zarth!_

     “Ferala.”

     Blake blew out a small breath of relief. These particular Tall, Dark, and Handsomes seemed to have a Knight in shining armor thing. Saving people. He’d never seen anything better than Zarth striding around the corner to save him. He wondered how the other man could walk as if he had no worries and still be across the hall so fast. Zarth came forward and scooped up his sister’s arm in his, drawing her a few more feet away from Blake before speaking another word; again, all done with that smile on his face.

    “Ferala, love. I’ve been looking for you. We did make plans to tour the new additions?”

    “I appear to have been side tracked,” she replied, looking back at Blake.

    “We can go now. I put in the statues you wanted…” Zarth replied, leading her quickly away. He was worried when she went along with him without a word more.

     The moment they were out of sight, Blake took off down the other corridor that would lead him to the garage. He tried to shake off the anger as he walked, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t get over the fury. For her to insult his relationship with Fen like that. The thing is she thought she was clever. Insinuating things too. Thought he wouldn’t see what she was trying to do. Assumed he didn’t know as much about Fen as he actually did. If she thought she was going to sabotage the relationship by instilling doubt, then she was going to become even more annoyed with him. It wasn’t going to work. But why would she even want to do that? Sabotage her brother’s relationship? What did it have to do with her?

     He wasn’t surprised when she’d allowed Zarth to drag her away. He had managed to surprise her; he hadn’t acted the way she thought he would. Her reluctant surrender had more to do with needing to regroup instead of admitting defeat. She would come at him again. And she would be stronger with her verbal ammunition.

     “I don’t care,” he muttered as he entered the garage. “Let her come at me again.”

     An amused chuckle came from his right. “Talking to yourself again?”

     Blake turned to find Tyk readying a glyder near the front aisle. “Does no one sleep here?” He snapped his feet to the right and went in the spacer’s direction. “Stalking must be hereditary also. Ferala was following me and then eventually cornered me. And even though she’s shit scary I was very brave and stood up to her.”

     Tyk snorted as he hopped on the glyder. But he didn’t start the vehicle. Instead he leaned forward and draped his arms over the control handles, eyes on Blake.

     “She’s got problems,” Blake went on. “She called me a passing fuck and insinuated that’s the only reason why I’m here and that Fen did this all the time. I’m a stranger! Why attack a perfect stranger? And she thought she was going to get to me. You should have seen her eyes when I threw it back in her face.”

     “She’s someone I will avoid.”

     “She seriously had murder in her eyes.”

     Tyk rolled his eyes. “You’re still breathing.”

     “Zarth rescued me. Came out of nowhere, jumped in, and quickly took her away. Where are you headed? Getting more air?”

     Tyk shrugged. “Need to get out. It’s starting to feel oppressive here.” He started the glyder and leaned over, crooking a finger at Blake who bent over slightly so he could hear the spacer. Tyk’s lips were an inch from his ear. “You smell like heavy sex.” He smirked playfully when Blake straightened and looked away, neck turning red. “You’re more talkative too. Must also be a side effect of a good long fuck.”

     “God, you’re a dick too with the teasing!” Blake turned back to him. “And FYI, Fen _in general_ is one big side effect.”

     Tyk laughed. “I like that.” He nodded and then backed the hovering vehicle away into the aisle behind him.

* * *

     Fen was grumpy with him the next morning and it took Blake until midday to figure out why. He went to breakfast the next morning to find he was the third to last there. Zari and Zarth already being there, and it was without a doubt Tyk would be missing this meal, as he always did. It was probably too homey for him. Truthfully at times it was too homey for Blake.

     “Is tardiness a normal trait of yours?” Zarth asked in good spirit once he’d sat down.

     Blake smiled hesitantly at him. “Not usually, sir.”

     Zarth furrowed his brows and turned to Zari. “Will he keep doing that?”

     Zari snickered.

     “Doing what?” Blake questioned.

     “Calling him sir,” Zari explained. “You’re one of the household now and generally no one in the Inner house calls him sir.”

     Blake met and held Zarth’s eyes. “And… you don’t like it? No offense, but you look like a sir.”

     Zari’s snickers turned into laughter at Zarth’s indignant expression. “You’re making him feel old.”

     Blake felt his wary smile relax and turn genuine; one to match Zarth’s.

     “Where’s your parents? Your sister?”

     “Oh they’ve already eaten,” Zari answered. “They get up very early. And Ferala doesn’t get up until midday.”

     “Huh.”

     “So where’s Fen?” she asked.

     Blake took a moment to notice Zarth’s sharp look at Zari before the elder sibling turned to him. “Um… I guess he’s still sleeping. I don’t know. I came from my room straight to here.”

     Zarth seemed to settle slightly in his chair while Zari stared at him incredulously. “You sleep in separate rooms?”

     Blake looked at her oddly. “Well I was given a room and I did catch the message that we weren’t allowed to share one.”

     “Yeah, b-but,” Zari sputtered.

     “You know the traditions, my love,” said Zarth with an amused smile at her floundering.

   “But it’s Fen!” she burst out.

     “Zari,” Zarth murmured in warning. “This is an entirely new situation.”

     “I’m sorry, but I need this explained. Because I know the whole picture so it’s kind of hard for me to imagine Fen just going along with it and walking Blake to his door night after night when we know for a fact you two share a bed.”

     “Um,” Blake went on, stalling anything Zarth might have replied with because now the powerful brother was looking a little ticked. “He didn’t leave me at my door. I left him sleeping last night.”

     “You left him sleeping?”

     “Yeah.”

     “And you didn’t wake him to tell him you were going?”

     “No.”

     Blake became concerned when both Zarth and Zari winced. And then Fen came in with a cloud of dark and gloomy over his head- distracting Blake- and the previous conversation didn’t register until midday when Blake finally figured out what crawled up Fen’s ass. But at present, Blake was staring at Fen’s profile and having no idea why his boyfriend looked as if someone had taken a planet sized cannon blaster to his ship.

     Before he could ask about it, a uniformed man strode into the room. He aimed for Zarth’s position and stopped beside his chair. “Sir, we are being hailed by a private vessel. They wish to land.”

     Zarth held out a hand and the man passed over the mobile screen. Zarth’s eyes ran back and forth across the information and soon his eyes grew excitedly round and a grin so wide appeared that Blake swore would split his face. “Yes,” Zarth said quickly, handing back the screen. “Permission to land is granted. And prepare for our guests. Assume they’ll have an extended stay.”

     “Sir.” The uniformed man bowed his head before taking an about face and leaving as quickly as he appeared.

     “Zarth?” Fen questioned when his brother stood and clearly was about to leave without finishing his breakfast.

     “Kessle comes,” Zarth announced just before he left. Zari gasped and jumped from her chair to chase after Zarth.

     “That explains it,” Fen said as he too stood.

     Blake also vacated his chair when Fen motioned for him to do so. “What’s a kessle?”

     “Kessle is a who. A Tefmau. My brother grew up with him. Kessle was fostered here for a few years while I fostered on his home planet with his clan. He and Kessle are good friends. Always make time to take long visits with each other. Though from what Zari’s told me, they haven’t seen each other in nearly a year and a half. Zarth busy here with the Three Worlds while Kessle’s been gone for some time completing his studies.”

     Fen gave no other explanation, which was a shame because Blake had even more questions. But he was sure he’d get answers soon enough so he remained quiet and followed Fen out to the landing courtyard. Zarth was already there, pacing back and forth and looking to the sky. He looked more impatient than Blake had ever seen him.

     “Kessle’s lovely,” Zari told him as they all watched the sky; all of them catching sight of an approaching ship. Shooting down like an arrow. “He’s so much fun too.”

     Indeed the main body of the ship was shaped like an arrow and it gleamed so brightly in the sun that Blake had to shield his eyes from the massive glare. They only had a wait a few minutes before the vessel was landed and the craft opened, a set of stairs automatically descending to the ground.

     A blur shot down the stairs and across the empty space between those waiting and the ship. And then Zarth staggered back as he was assaulted by this blur with black and tan hair and a tail whipping back and forth erratically. Zarth’s arms locked around him in a bear hug and he lifted Kessle off his feet.  

     Two more of these Tefmau descended from the ship and Blake bit his lip to keep his jaw from dropping to the floor when he saw the newcomers had ears and tails and long sharp claws on their hands. Or at least the ones who were now following the blur down from the ship, though these were walking slowly. The blur was now semi still and Blake saw the being had his long legs around Zarth’s waist and was still hugging the shit out of him. Kessle didn’t have claws, or at least if he did they were sheathed.  

     He was a stunning creature. Blake couldn’t think of another word. Stunning. They all were. They had sharp defined features; feline like. No whiskers though, which Blake thought was odd. Clearly they were some sort of humanoid cat creatures.

     “Kessle. You’ve grown,” Zarth murmured, reaching a hand up and brushing the tips of his fingers over a pointed ear and grinning when the ear twitched. “I didn’t think you would grow anymore.”

     Kessle’s voice was deep and low when he answered. It wasn’t what Blake was expecting either. “The same could be said of you, my friend.” Kessle jumped down from Zarth and turned back to Zari, Fen, and Blake, focusing on the last. His tail swung round to wrap loosely around Zarth’s calve. Blake noticed this was an automatic thing. “Now who’s this skinny hairless creature, Zarth? A new fosterling?”

     Blake lifted a hand to his hair, frowning. He didn’t have to make him sound so unappetizing. “I have hair.”

     Kessle pulled back, eyes sharp on Blake’s face. “Earth. You are from Earth.”

     Blake had to tip his face back to look Kessle in the eye. “How did you automatically know that?”

     “Clearly from your dialect.”

     “Oh right, clearly.”

    Fen snorted.

     “Kessle! Kessle, love!”

     Kessle spun around and shot across the landing pad towards the two people who had just arrived. Blake watched the feline alien grab Fen’s mother in a bear hug, hoisting her off her feet. Lynti laughed delightedly while Kessle’s face buried against her neck. Blake could hear the purring from all the way where he was standing. When Kessle put Lynti down he was then engulfed in a hug by Fen’s father and Lynti went back to hugging Kessle from behind. Blake felt a smile bloom on his face. Maybe travelling with these people wouldn’t be a nightmare after all. Vaguely he wondered where Ferala was. She hadn’t been at breakfast either.

     While Fen, Zari, and Blake moved back towards the house, Zarth approached to two silent watching Tefmau to greet them. Only one returned his greeting with the smile. The other glared slightly, but that was to be expected. The one who smiled was Kessle’s chaperone. The other was his bodyguard. Kessle was not allowed to travel anywhere without these two when travelling meant out of his home system.

     The bodyguard then nodded and went around the courtyard to the soldier post. It was routine for him to check in, make sure they knew he was there, to gain security access to certain places and things, to check to see if the homestead had changed in any way. And then he would go around the entire estate to check it out himself before taking a post where he could keep watch. Once in the house, he didn’t need to follow Kessle around everywhere. It was enough that he was relatively close by. The chaperon had to follow Kessle almost everywhere, but she allowed Kessle and Zarth their private time too, knowing they were best friends. To be honest, Zarth didn’t’ think she wanted to press him on the matter, because he would.

     By the time Zarth reentered to house, Kessle had disappeared. Zarth went straight to his study, with Mirra following a few paces behind him. Mirra took post outside the door when he walked in. Zarth was unsurprised to see Kessle already seated on a hover lounge, staring into his cup of suan. Zarth took up the cup waiting for him on the table and immediately sat across from Kessle, waiting.

     “I’ve come with news,” Kessle said quietly, eyes lifting to the man across from him. Zarth sat forward. “Apparently it’s time for me to become a pair. It’s why I’ve come home early from my studies.”

     “Has your family made bonding plans for you yet?”

     Kessle tipped his chin down, studying his drink. His ears sagged and tail went limp. “Yes.”

     Zarth’s fingers tightened around his cup. “When?”

     “Negotiations began last season. I will be paired the start of the next season.”

     _Three months?_ Zarth found his head swimming. “Do you want this?”

     “I am happy to advance my clan’s future-”

     “Kessle. You will not lie to me,” Zarth interrupted lowly. “You will never pretend with me.”

     Kessle lifted his exotic gaze and bit his lip before shaking his head. “N-no, Zarth,” he whispered. He set his cup aside before moving forward and grabbing Zarth’s hands tightly between them. “No, no, Zarth. I do not want this. He is not for me. He does not care for me. Only for what my clan can do for him, for the litter I can give him. He wants me to stop my education and stay home always. To never go where I wish. He wants to hide me away.”

     “I will not allow it,” Zarth said simply and meant it. Kessle’s wellbeing was being put into question here.

     Kessle pressed forward again, planting a knee on the cushion of the chair and his hands on Zarth’s chest. “And they want me to move to his world… I don’t like it, Zarth. It’s too cold there. Not enough sun, there’s no place for lounging, and they don’t even have sun baths!” Kessle’s low voice began to climb as his calm faded to incredulity.

     Zarth placed a palm against Kessle’s flushed cheek. “Shh, Kessle. You have nothing to fear. We have three months. I will think of something. I always do.”

     Kessle’s fright diminished and his pink lips twitched. “This is so.”

     Zarth nodded, smiling when Kessle’s tail wrapped round his leg for comfort. “I will make it well.”

     A grin sprang up on Kessle’s face as he deposited the other knee on the cushion, effectively sitting on Zarth’s lap. His pointed eye teeth clearly visible. Zarth smirked and tapped the right fang and Kessle jerked his face back with a snort and tongued the tooth with a little glare. Zarth stared at that tongue and the lips that were wet just inside.

     “You were away for a long time. Too long.”

     Kessle’s ears drooped at Zarth’s displeased tone. “I’m sure you were busy and didn’t give me more than a passing thought.”

     “You are wrong.”

     “Don’t use that tone with me, Zarth. You never contacted me. Not once!”

     “I did. Several times. You never answered.” Zarth wanted to tell him never to do that again. He wanted to demand it, and it pained him to keep those words from escaping between his clenched teeth.

     Kessle moved back slightly, eyes widening. “I never received any message.”

     “Not one?”

     “Zarth, I would never ignore you.”

     Zarth felt his calm ebbing away to be replaced by fury. The only way Kessle did not receive his messages was if someone purposely kept them from him. Someone had dared?

     An arm wrapped around his head and his cheek was quickly pressed against Kessle’s chest. “Now now, Zarth. None of that,” Kessle murmured before lowering his face to nuzzle him. “Go back to your happy place.”

     Before Zarth could answer, a rough tongue swiped along his ear and up to his temple. Over and over again and a purr rumbled in Kessle’s throat as his rage quickly disappeared. He relaxed against Kessle, allowing the Tefmau his grooming, having missed it. As a youngster, when Kessle started this, it had been disconcerting. Annoying. Perplexing. But as he grew to understand the reasons behind the grooming, he forced himself to grow accustomed to it. It soothed Kessle to do this. It was in his nature.

     “Talk. But stay in your happy place,” Kessle demanded between licks. Zarth snorted but did as he was instructed. 

* * *

“Have they always been like that?” Blake asked, motioning to Zarth and Kessle. They were both on a two seater and Kessle was cuddled up tightly on Zarth’s lap with his head under Zarth’s chin, both of them looking down at a mobile screen displaying the day’s news.

     “For as long as I can remember.”

     “But they’re not lovers?” he asked just to make sure because Fen had said they weren’t but looking at them now, Blake shook his head. He wasn’t an idiot. Those two were way more than friends.

     Fen shook his head as he watched the two. “When they were boys Kessle decided Zarth would make a suitable Alpha and he started what you see now. Surprising Zarth with his sudden and constant touching; his endless need to show physical affection. This is how Tefmau are. Zarth didn’t much care for it at first but he stood it for Kessle’s sake. It is Tefmau nature to behave this way with their protectors,” he whispered lowly. “Eventually Zarth got used to it. Eventually he started to like it. It’s something that just is between them.”

     “I’m still having trouble with the lap sitting and purring thing.”

     Fen laughed and went on with the detailed version. When Kessle first arrived years ago at the beginning of his fostering, he’d been scared. Very scared. On a new planet with a new family. Different cultures, different species. Zarth had taken to being foster brother very seriously and immediately took Kessle under his wing. And since then Kessle looked to Zarth for protection; for care and safety. Kessle’s kind resembled felines but they also had wild pack mentalities and Kessle had made Zarth his Alpha. A bond had been formed without conscious thought and it could not be severed without hurting the Tefmau in question.

     “Zarth’s never taken advantage of that,” Fen answered before Blake could ask the question. “Even though Kessle’s clan fear he might. Many were not pleased when they realized this. But my brother would never.”

     “…can you believe the nerve of the Perseatians, believing they could hide such scandalous behavior from the Alliance? One more stunt like that and the Alliance will declare them enemies.”

     Zarth propped an elbow on the arm rest and dropped his temple to his knuckle. His gaze was down, watching Kessle’s face as he fingered one of the furred triangular ears. “Unfortunately this is true.”

     “I see nothing unfortunate about it.”

     “The Perseatians are headstrong, yes. But otherwise a beautiful and solid civilization. In this issue, the Alliance should be open to more compromise. It is the Alliance who need to relax their hold.”

     Kessle snorted and waved a hand, dismissing Zarth’s notion. “No. Ridiculous.”

     “It is the peaceful solution.”

     Kessle drew his head up until they were eye to eye. “No,” he purred lowly. Lifting a finger, a sharp black claw slid out, and he began to gently draw it down Zarth’s cheek. “That is the weak solution.”

     “Peace is not weakness,” Zarth returned just as quietly.

     “It is for some.”

     The air seemed to still. The tip of Kessle’s claw was now hanging off Zarth’s chin. They were still staring at each other. All emotion- amusement and annoyance respectively- now gone and replaced by awareness and heat and longing. Blake turned to Fen with a raised brow.

     Fen shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Um…” clearly this was new and the surprise in Fen’s eyes was genuine. He and Blake went back to pretending like they weren’t watching.

   Kessle broke first. He dropped his eyes and his claw; a clear flush began at his neck and rose steadily into his face. Blake admitted he was attractive and he could admit that, even though he was talking about an alien. It really didn’t make much of a difference though. Kessle was both cute and handsome. Made you want to stand at attention and hug him at the same time.

     “I know what you’re thinking.” Blake turned to Fen who was grinning. “And it’s so true.”

     Blake grinned. “He is!” Fen nodded. “You liked him at one point didn’t you?”

     “You can’t sit there and tell me you don’t think he’s very nice to look at.”

     “Truthfully, he’s not my type. He’s gorgeous, yeah, but still not my type.”

     “Yeah?” Fen grinned and scooted closer until they were side by side. He grabbed a handful of Blake’s hair and pulled it, tipping his head back and exposing his neck. “What’s your type?”

     Blake swallowed a gasp threatening to break free. Fen was curved over him in such a way that most of him was hidden from view, but he didn’t want Zarth or Kessle to see him lose it because Fen was doing his low voice thing. All Fen would need to do now was send that disarming smile and Blake would be lost. “Stop. We’re not in private.”

     “What’s that? You want me to touch you somewhere private?”

     Blake laughed. “No, that’s not what I—ahh!” He slammed his thighs closed but only managed to trap the hand already between them. “Fen,” he hissed and then shuddered because Fen’s thumb was applying just enough pressure to just the right spot. His answer was a mean little smirk and the squeezing of fingers. “I want in you,” Fen whispered harshly. “I want in you so bad. I want to shove your face against the table and fuck you so hard your face will get table burn.”

     Blake never got a chance to respond; his lips were soon being bitten roughly and then a tongue was thrust into his mouth without invitation. The hand still in his hair twisted harshly and Blake was ashamed to admit he moaned and relaxed his legs so that the hand between could move without hindrance. If he thought they were somehow invisible to the others on the veranda, he was sadly mistaken.

     Zarth smirked as he watched them from the corner of his eye. He knew Fen was going to be mean on purpose. He always was when something annoyed him. And he also knew Blake wasn’t going to be able to walk properly in the morning. Fen would make his point. Kessle suddenly turned in his lap and dropped his burning face against his shoulder; his tail rose up and wrapped around Zarth’s thigh seconds later.

     Zarth’s eyes twinkled in amusement. “Shh, everything is fine.”

     “Stop them,” Kessle mumbled against his shoulder, eyes still tightly closed.

     He laughed and toyed with Kessle’s ear again. “Your sensibilities are amusing.”

     “Zarth. Make them stop. It’s not proper behavior. They aren’t mated!”

     “If I have my way, they will be soon enough… They’ve stopped. You can look now.”

     Kessle relaxed and slowly turned around. Only to gasp and shoot to his feet when seeing Fen had Blake practically arched over the back of his chair. “Going for my sun bath!” Kessle called and quickly ran away to the path that led into the gardens and straight to the sun baths.

   Zarth watched him until he disappeared before turning to his brother and Blake. “Stop, Fen.”

     His voice must have jolted Blake back into awareness. The mechanic shoved against Fen’s chest and quickly moved out from beneath him. “Prick,” he hissed before storming off.

     Both brothers were left there to smirk.

     “He does make you an idiot,” Zarth commented as Fen retook his seat.

     Fen blew out a harsh breath. “He gets in me and turns me to fire. To the point where I have no control over my actions.” He paused and looked at his brother. “Kessle looks well.”

     Zarth raised a brow. “He does. He’s happy to be back here.”

     “He doesn’t usually show up so unexpectedly. He must have a reason beyond visiting.”

     “He does.”

     “Is something wrong?”

     “I’m taking care of it.”

     “Okay. Here’s the important question. When are you going to tell him? You can’t last like this, you know. It’s been years and I know it has to be torture with him touching you all the time.”

     Zarth stood and turned away. “My answer is the same, Fen. Never. That’s an abuse of power I will never fall into.”

     “It’s not, Zarth. Not if he feels the same!”

     Zarth paused just inside the room. He reached out and grasped the doorframe; fingers turning white. “I cannot act unless he does. I don’t think he will. I think you are wrong.”       

* * *

“Oh my god,” Blake breathed and spun around. He had been wandering the gardens, not really paying attention to where he was going. And then he suddenly came upon the ponds. Each of the ponds had cushions around the edges. The pond he stumbled onto was not vacant. He found Kessle lounging on one of the cushions without any clothes on. “I’m so sorry! I-I didn’t know you were here! Didn’t know what this was…”

     Kessle chuckled and watched the Earthling fidget. “It is fine. I was only sun bathing. Have you ever sun bathed?”

    Blake slowly turned back around. “Can’t say that I have.”

    “You should try it. It’s very relaxing.”

    Blake didn’t know what to say, but he did know he was having trouble pulling his eyes away from Kessle’s stretched out body. “Is that fur? Do you have fur?”

     “Come see if you like,” Kessle invited. He had a friendly smile on his face, and though his eyes were sharp with awareness of all kinds, Blake saw also kindness as well. He was being friendly and allowing Blake to satisfy his curiosity. What relaxed Blake most was the fact Kessle wasn’t being suggestive even though he was laid out nude beside the small rectangular pond filled with fish.

     So Blake walked around the pond, trying to keep from looking at the Tefmau with more than an academic view. By the time he was beside him, Kessle was sitting up and had a light piece of cloth around his middle. Kessle held out an arm when he sat next to him, and since he was studying him intently, Blake didn’t mind that he was being studied in a similar fashion. Blake hesitantly reached out with a hand to run it over Kessle’s arm.

     “Soft,” he murmured without meaning to. Kessle snickered when his cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

     “Twice daily cleansing.”

     “Um…it’s not really fur, is it?” Blake murmured as he felt the soft down hair. It was just very short soft light tan hairs. “Okay, maybe it is fur, in a way. Is it all over your body?”

     Kessle nodded. “The longer fur runs from my head and a portion of my back. Then my tail too.”

     “No wonder Zarth likes touching you all the time.”

     Kessle pulled his eyes away, interested in the garden flowers. “I like his petting,” he murmured softly.

     Blake studied his profile, frowning. Kessle seemed sad now. His eyes were sad and full of wistfulness. “You’re pretty amazing! I-I mean… Your species… Never imagined… Where do you originate?”

     “That is still up for debate.”

     Blake thought about the species name. Tefmau. “Did your people ever visit Earth? Thousands of years ago?”

     Kessle grinned sharply, but otherwise didn’t answer that question.

     “Do you chase rodents?”

     A sharp frown was thrown at him then. “How did you meet Fenwyn, Earthling?”

     “He was stranded and I saved him. Fixed his engine.”

     “How did you come to be here?”

     “A lot of things, but mainly I’m here because Fen asked.”

      “You do understand a union is expected.”

     “I’ve been catching the hints,” Blake murmured; this time he was the one to stare off at nothing.

     Those sharp eyes focused on him. “And you are not pleased with this.”

     Blake shrugged, not voicing his opinion on the matter. It was still all so surreal. He didn’t know what to think.

     A hand rested on his forearm. “At least you are not being forced. You do have that choice,” Kessle murmured. “I… My clan is forcing me to become a pair. At the end of this season. With a loathsome creature.”

     Blake’s eyes widened in horror. “I’m sorry. Isn’t there anything you can do?”

     “Not me, no. My clan wants this union too.”

     “That’s bullcrap! They can’t force you!”

     Some of the sadness left the cat’s eyes and he smiled. “I may have a way out. Time will tell. But, yes they can. And they will. But I brought it up because… This person whom I’m to be married to doesn’t care for me in any way. This is pure politics for him and wealth for certain members of my clan. But you, Blake. You are loved. You have a choice and you are loved. This is all I wanted to say about it.”

     Blake pat his shoulder. “Zarth won’t let it happen.”

     Kessle’s eyes glittered with amusement at the conviction in his voice and from the fact that his pat had unconsciously turned into petting. “You sound sure.”

     “From what I’ve learned so far about this family, they’re very stubborn. They’re stubborn and they take care of family. Fen says you’re family. And even though he seems really nice, I get this feeling Zarth can be a dangerous scary asshole no one wants to cross.”

     “He does have many talents, my Zarth does,” Kessle purred and the Tefmau seemed more uplifted.

     “So is this guy a cat too?”

     “No.”

     Blake nodded, getting to what he was really curious about. “So different species can… get together then.”

     “Some, yes. Some are compatible with others in that they can breed together…”

     Blake focused back on the fish again. “Huh.”

     “Zarth tells me you will be accompanying his parents on their next excursion.”

     “That appears to be the plan. Apparently it’s a test for Fen and I. We’re separating in two days.”

     Kessle nodded, again studying Blake intently. Not missing anything of the emotions Blake was trying to keep off his face and out of his eyes. The Tefmau smiled softly. This one really did love Fen. “It won’t be exactly three months of separation. The entire immediate family here will be travelling to the Cyruvian sector for a grand gathering. I myself will be there. So you will see Fen in one month’s time.”

     This perked Blake up some. “What kind of gathering?”

     “The Light of Cyruvi, the Empress. She is an amazing being. Lovely and strong. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting her twice in my so far short lifetime. These annual gatherings are to honor her, but mainly I think she likes to socialize with species all over. It’s essentially a grand party.”

     “So then… your clan is in high standing as well I take it.”

     “In this part of the galaxy, yes. But the Cyruvian Empire spans multiple galaxies. I’m sure you’ll be tutored by Fenwyn’s parents as you travel with them.”

     “I don’t… I’m not used to…”

     “Do not worry, Blake. They are lovely people. You will become a son to them. I can promise you this.”

     “I don’t want to disappoint them or Fen.”

     “From what I’ve seen already I know this is impossible.”

     Blake blew out a shaky breath, trying to dispel the fear. “So will you be staying here long?”

     “Not as long as I’d like,” Kessle answered lowly.

     “How long have you been in love with Zarth?” Blake suddenly asked, very firmly.

     “It seems like all my life,” the Tefmau immediately answered and then blinked with shock at himself. Then he turned and glared at the bold human. “Repeat that to anyone and I shall scratch out your eyes.”    

     Blake shook his head rapidly. “Sorry. That was extremely rude of me.”

     “Astonishing you were able to get me to admit that so easily.”

     “I didn’t think you’d actually answer.”

     “I suppose it’s because I like you.”

     “We just met though.”

     Kessle shrugged. “Fen loves you. Zari loves you, and Zarth is already very fond of you and I can see clearly why.”

    “Um… I like you too.”

    Kessle smiled at the bashful look in the human’s eyes. Eyes that were pinned on the pond. “I hope we can be good friends.”

    Blake turned back to him. He looked excited and pleased. He was an adorable human. “I’d like that.”

    


	11. 11

The day had come for the separation. As much as he was dreading that, Blake woke up feeling strangely excited too. He was excited to be given this chance. The fact that he knew Fen’s parents wanted to spend time with him, to get to know him and teach him things. To make sure that not only Fen, but he would be sure of what he wanted. They weren’t just looking out for Fen. They were looking out for him too.

   Still… Blake blew out a breath as he slowly sat up off the arm that had become trapped beneath him sometime during the ‘night’. “Time,” he murmured quietly, looking up at the ceiling. A holographic image appeared there to display the time of day. It was still early. Still a few more hours left before he would be leaving with Maro and Lynti. Quietly he left the bed and went to use the bathroom, glancing at the sleeping spacer as he did so. His nerves must have awoken him early.

     Once returning to the bedroom, Blake stood at the foot of the bed, uncaring about the slight chill brushing against his naked body. Fen had yet to move. Damn spacer was a heavy sleeper. “Fen… I love you.”

     He’d said it before, but never to Fen’s face. Never to Fen. He’d told Lynti he loved her son, with Fen sitting right there, but he’d never said it directly to Fen. Fen hadn’t seemed to care or notice… but maybe he did and he just didn’t want to press it. Again probably because Fen was very sensitive when it came to him; sensitive in that he always seemed to know what Blake was feeling or what he needed. What he needed right now was Fen.

     Blake walked around the bed to get back in, and then shifted over under the covers to climb over his lover, smiling fondly when all Fen did was snore. As he studied the spacer’s face, Blake tried not to think about the fact they wouldn’t see each other for a month. Wouldn’t be able to speak to each other more than once a week. That was another stipulation Maro implemented in this test. Only once a week vid calls. However those vid calls could be as long as they wanted. And at least it wasn’t the full three months. They would get visitation for the party thing.

     He leaned forward, sliding his hands into Fen’s thick black hair along his temples. Then he whispered kisses over Fen’s lips and then along his stubble covered jaw, down his neck, then back up over his forehead. Fen only twitched slightly. Blake grinned and moved his hands, sliding his fingers down the spacer’s face along his neck, where he returned his lips, sucking slightly just below the Adam’s Apple. He hitched his hips a little and there was more of a reaction, more than just a twitch, but still Fen didn’t awake. By the time his mouth latched on to a nipple, Fen was more than half hard. And when Blake added the slightest bit of suction to that nipple, Fen softly moaned in sleep and his hips automatically lifted.

   Repositioning himself just a little, Blake rubbed himself against Fen, smirking in triumph when Fen became hard enough. He reached between them, taking the length of his lover in hand. Giving Fen’s considerable girth one long caress before lowering himself down over, releasing a shuddering breath as he filled himself with his lover.

     Fen dragged himself away from sleep. Something awesome was happening. His body was way too hot, but it wasn’t bothersome. When he opened his eyes, it was to see Blake moving over him, to feel Blake taking him in and out so slowly. Automatically his hands moved to touch. To slide over Blake’s already slick skin even as he spread his legs and bent his knees so that Blake wouldn’t have to do all the work. Now that he was awake, he wanted in on the action to. His hands dropped to Blake’s hips and he quickly thrust up as Blake had slowly been coming down. Blake’s reaction was to cry out in wanton pleasure.

     A hand dropped to his shoulder and Blake bent over him slightly, and their movements increased in speed and soon Blake was letting go, riding him relentlessly and all Fen could do was lay there and feel. He hardly had any brain function going on. Blake attacking him like this before he was even awake took care of that.

    Soon he felt the burn, the tell tale sign in the pit of his gut. Blake was quickly pulling him over the edge, and once again he started to actively participate. Only Blake slowed down and then stopped moving completely. His head was hung, chin nearly to his chest so that Fen couldn’t see his eyes. Blake’s hands rested limply on Fen’s chest and his fingers slightly curled.

    Fen immediately sat up as best he could with Blake over him, groaning since he was still buried deep inside his lover. He doesn’t hesitate to wrap his arms around Blake, embracing him tightly. Just holding on to him because he knows what Blake is thinking, what he’s feeling. He knows why Blake goes quiet.

    “You’re never going to be alone,” he whispered against Blake’s throat. “Even if I can’t be there. No one will make you be alone. And even though they are my parents, you can talk to them. About anything. They are that kind of people, Blake. They aren’t cold and heartless.”

     Blake pulled back quickly, eyes wide, embarrassed. “No! I know that, Fen. I don’t think that!”

   Fen laughed lowly and grabbed the back of Blake’s head, pulling his face closer to kiss him. A sweet soft kiss to put Blake at ease. “I know you don’t think that, idiot. I’m only reminding you. You won’t be alone. It’s not just about them getting to know you. It’s about you getting to know them. They want this match as much as I do.”

    “Why? They don’t know me. Why are they so eager for this?”

     “One of the reasons is they can see how much I love you.”

     It never failed. Any time he said those words to Blake, that smile would appear. That open unguarded smile. Blake pressed forward and pushed his back to the bed before dropping over him. Grabbing his hands and entwining their fingers. That smile made Blake’s eyes sparkle. “I love you too, space boy.”

     “Space _man_!” he laughed. “And this space man wants you to go back to riding him.”

     “Hmm, just a minute,” Blake purred just before connecting their lips together. Fen let Blake have his minute, because again, he loved Blake’s mouth. But after that minute was up, he threw his lover onto his back and crawled over him, grabbing those legs and spreading them open and commenced with losing himself to Blake yet again. Blake didn’t utter one complaint. 

* * *

The only time Fen let Blake leave his sight for the remainder of his time there was when he had to go back to his own room to bathe and dress for the day. Right after Blake rejoined him to take breakfast with the rest of the family. Surprisingly Tyk was even in attendance and unfortunately so was Ferala. Fen knew without doubt that unlike Tyk, Ferala was not there to support them in this anxious time. In fact she was probably loving this. Blake could not hide the nerves from his eyes nor could Fen hide his displeasure over what was about to happen directly after breakfast.

     They were both mostly quiet during the meal, sitting side by side, though Fen had to smile every time Kessle, who had taken to sitting next to Blake during every meal, would draw Blake out of his anxious silence. Over the last two days the two had been spending a lot of time together and they seemed to genuinely like each other. And Fen thought that was fantastic. Looking to his brother, he could see Zarth felt the same way.

    “Well, it’s just about that time, isn’t it?” Ferala announced cheerfully, the glee clear in her eyes. “Time to say goodbye to this…interloper. I’m very certain this trip will bring out the painful truth. Poor Fen. You are destined to be disappointed.”

    Fen would have raged if Blake hadn’t dropped a hand to his knee. “If you keep trying to hurt Fen, I’m pretty sure you won’t like my retribution, Ferala,” Blake said calmly, even though Fen was sure Blake felt anything but calm. Though he managed to smile sweetly at Ferala and Fen just wanted to kiss him.

     Ferala sucked in a breath and then her eyes narrowed. And Fen had the urge to get up and stand in front of Blake. As it was, Maro responded before Ferala could and surprised his younger children. “You will be silent, Ferala. Your games will not be tolerated right now. Be silent or remove yourself from our presence.”

     Now it was Zari who looked gleeful while the rest, all but Tyk, were completely shocked. Tyk looked beyond amused. Lynti was glaring at her eldest daughter while Kessle dropped his hand onto Blake’s free hand to give him a soothing pat, while dropping his chin to his chest and snorting.

   “But Father! He just threatened me! This is all really ridiculous! Where does he come from? No one will say! I don’t believe for an instant this person is any way acceptable for our illustrious family!”

     “You’re only around us when it suits you,” Fen replied through gritted teeth. “And you don’t deserve to know anything about him beyond the fact that he is liked here more than you!”

     “How dare you, Fenwyn!”

     The pressure he was applying to his teeth was probably going to crack them. “You have some nerve even thinking of speaking to me after what you did before I left.”

     “What did she do?” Lynti asked him and then immediately turned to Ferala. “What did you do?” she demanded.

     Fen stood up before Ferala could answer with a lie and grabbed Blake’s wrist to pull him to his feet also. “And this is your only warning. Stay away from Blake. If I see or hear even a whisper of you going anywhere near him, at anytime without my say so…”

   Fen let the threat hang in the air. The furious dangerous look on his face was enough to convey his message quite clearly to all those in a room.

     “Fen, you probably shouldn’t have done that,” Blake murmured after they had left the room. Fen raised a finger in front of his mouth and stopped just a few feet away from the door.

     Blake looked confused until he started to hear the shouting from his mother. Truthfully he was surprised his mother was the one to start shouting at his sister. He expected Zari to start in first. “Maybe things have changed.” Because before, his parents always seemed to let Ferala’s attitude slide. Maybe the fact that Ferala was attacking Blake, his intended, for no reason had opened their eyes to their daughter’s true character. His father had looked beyond furious with Ferala.

    “You know, it’s kind of nice to know you don’t have a picture perfect family,” Blake replied after a moment, a smile tugging at his lips. “Think that’s why Tyk was grinning the entire time.”

    Fen snorted out a laugh and nodded as the moved along down the hallway. “He was enjoying that, wasn’t he?”

     “Immensely. Has, uh… Has Kessle ever tried to scratch out her eyes?”

     “No. Only because Zarth’s always there to restrain him. Don’t get me wrong. I know he’s wanted to.”

     “Yeah, he doesn’t seem like the type of guy to put up with that ridiculous behavior. He’s way too proper and classy for that.”

     It still amazed Fen that Blake could so easily look beyond species and just identify with the character of a person.

     All too soon they were called to the landing platform. Fen thanked the stars Ferala was absent. Hopefully she had been forbidden from coming to this send off. Fen grinned to himself. It would tick her off good. The others were already there, standing near the craft which would carry his parents and Blake off to the spaceport where their family vessel was docked. Fen held Blake back just at the door. He wanted his following words to be only between them.

   He took up Blake’s hand, the left. He stared at that hand before fishing in his pocket and withdrawing something that meant a great deal to him. Without saying anything, he slid the ring onto a finger. “In three months time, when you get back here, this ring is going to be joined by another one. In three months I hope that’s going to be something you still want.”

     Blake didn’t actually spend too much time looking at what Fen had just snuck on him. Fen understood why. Blake was too busy staring at his face. “Despite all this happening so fast, I think you know my answer. You know I’m not going to change my mind.”

     Fen laughed out a breath. “Yeah.”

     Blake moved forward first, lifting his arms around his neck. “You’ll take care of Sheba?”

     Fen’s following laugh was a little shaky. “Y-yeah. I’m moving her to my room just after this,” he whispered right before lifting Blake off his feet to give him one of the bear hugs Blake adored. He felt Blake’s nose press against the side of his neck. “Remember what I said. Don’t be afraid to talk to my parents.”

     “I won’t forget,” he whispered against his mouth. They shared a soft kiss. Identical to the first kiss they shared in his ship just after leaving Jharan. The sweet kisses that left them both feeling high and breathless.

     When Fen set Blake down, it took all of his effort to let go. To let Blake walk away. He couldn’t move. When Blake looked over his shoulder and threw a smile at him, Fen released a tortured breath. “Everything’s going to be fine,” he whispered to himself. “It’ll be fine. They’ll look after him.”

    He stood there and watched Blake saying goodbye to Zari and Tyk. He managed to move forward some when the spacer and Blake shook hands and caught some of what they were saying.

     “Guess this is goodbye,” Blake said to Tyk.

     “Suppose it is.”

     “Will you be here when I come back?”

     Tyk glanced over his shoulder at Zari before turning back to Blake. He shrugged. “Probably not.”

     Blake nodded. “Do you think we’ll see each other again?”

     “I… I don’t know.” When Blake’s shoulders drooped a little, Tyk lifted a hand and placed it on Blake’s arm. “But I hope so, Blake.”

     Blake looked relieved and smiled at the spacer. Fen felt the rest of his misgivings about Tyk flying away. He really was a good guy. Guess he would get with Zari to sort out Tyk’s problem.

     When Blake turned to Kessle, Fen snorted a laugh when the Tefmau grabbed Blake’s head, drew him close and swiped his tongue from the tip of Blake’s nose all the way up to his hair line. Blake went rigid in surprise. But Kessle didn’t seem to notice and grabbed Blake to embrace him tightly, nuzzling the side of his head. “Take care. We’ll see each other soon.”

     “I’m really happy to have met you, Kessle.”

     “And I you.”

     When Blake pulled back, he smirked at the Tefmau. “I think you should make some moves. You know what I’m talking about.”

     “Bold human!”

     Blake laughed. “Yeah.” They shared a secret smile and Blake was then engulfed in a hug by Zarth and that seemed to surprise Blake more than Kessle’s goodbye lick. Fen didn’t hear the words his brother imparted to Blake since they were still hugging and the words were whispered. But Blake did glance back over at him and smirk.

     And then Blake and his parents were boarding the transport and soon he couldn’t see his lover anymore. His heart started beating triple time and Fen vaguely thought as he watched the transport lift off that he was about to have a panic attack. He didn’t notice the others had come back to the house until a hand dropped on his shoulder. Fen didn’t pull his eyes away from the sky and to the person beside him until the transport was no longer visible. He turned to Zarth and noticed it was just him and his brother left in the courtyard. Everyone going back into the house to give the two some private time.

     “You didn’t say goodbye to Mother and Father.”

     Fen shrugged.

     “But of course they understand.”

     “There’s no reason why I couldn’t go with them to the spaceport.”

     “There is also no reason to delay the inevitable or cause yourself more stress, little brother.” Zarth studied his brother’s stiff profile. “Come. I have just the thing to take your mind off Blake.”

     “Not likely.”

     “Oh yes, Fen.”

    Fen was fairly certain he wasn’t going to like what Zarth was implying. “What?”

    “Work!” Zarth announced cheerfully. “Lots and lots of work! To make up for your lengthy absence. Your posts have not been ignored, but the people miss seeing you.”

    Fen groaned and followed obediently after his brother.

* * *

     Blake couldn’t help that he was shaking as he took the seat Lynti led him to. She sat right next to him while Maro sat next to his wife. Half a dozen soldiers had already been seated by the time they boarded the transport. He wondered if they were going to be traveling with them and also wondered what the family transport would be like.

    He turned to Lynti. “How long does it take to get to the spaceport?”

    “Not long. About thirty minutes,” she answered with a smile. “It’s on the other side of Kilndaire.”

    Blake knew Kilndaire was the name of the huge planet suspended above Solndaire. “Is the spaceport like an airport?”

     He didn’t know why he asked that since he wasn’t sure they would even know what an airport was.

     “Yes it is,” Maro answered. “The same thing, really. But for interstellar space transports.”

    Blake leaned forward slightly so that he could see Maro. “You know a lot about… where I’m from, don’t you?” he asked quietly, remembering Fen had told him his father had taught him some about Earth.

    Maro nodded. “Studying primitive civilizations is a hobby of mine.”

     “Maro!”

     Blake smiled at both of them, especially after seeing Maro grimace from the realization of what he said and from his wife’s frown. “It’s fine. I know he wasn’t trying to be insulting. Fen said he needed to thank you for teaching him so much about that place, otherwise he would have been completely lost.”

     “Fenwyn is a bright boy. He would have figured it out even without my teachings.”

     Blake grinned. “I’m not sure…”

     “And you,” Maro went on. “Considering where you come from, you have such an open mind, Blake.”

     Blake shrugged. “Diaeran always said I saw a lot for someone my age.” He turned away to look out of the window, to study the stars around them and he missed it when Maro and Lynti stiffened in shock at the name.

    “W-what did you say?” Lynti whispered in a strangled voice. “Who?”

     He turned back to find both of them staring at him. Lynti with wide eyes and Maro’s eyes were narrowed on his face. “Diaeran. My guardian. He raised me.”

     After a moment, both of them relaxed, but they were still staring at him. He couldn’t decipher the look in their eyes. Lynti then smiled and took up his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Do you mind telling us some about your life, Blake? I would love to hear about you and I’m sure Maro would love to hear about everyday life on that planet.”

     “Yeah sure, but… my life wasn’t all that fascinating.”

     “Go on, tell us.”

     “Um… well I was a throwaway baby. I’m not sure how I came to live with Diaeran. He never explained how he became my guardian. Just that I was left outside of a firehouse…” and he went on to tell them the events of his non extraordinary life. It was strange but he never once felt uncomfortable speaking to them about his life. Maybe because they got into the conversation. Asking him questions, seeming genuinely interested in what he had to say. Just as Fen had done when they first started their friendship over the busted space engine.

     It wasn’t long before the spaceport came into view and Blake wondered how he’d missed it when he came into Solndaire the first time. The spaceport was enormous. “That’s huge!”

     “Not only is it for commercial flight but it also maintains some business fleets as well as houses personal vessels, such as ours,” Lynti explained. “Our family vessel is too large to house at our home.”

     “How big is the family ship?”

    Maro got this look in his eyes. The same look Fen sometimes had when he was being a cocky jock. Blake liked that look. It made Maro seem less severe.

     Lynti sighed. “Perhaps too big.”

     “Nonsense, Lynti. It’s suitable for our needs and that of our family when we travel.”

     Blake clearly saw Lynti roll her eyes and he laughed. He couldn’t help it. He went back to looking out the window, studying the spaceport as they drew nearer. Every so often he could see a bright burst of light and a ship would sail away from the port. It didn’t really look like a space station even though that’s exactly what it was. Suspended in space. It had several levels and several wings. It had beautiful curves and glass walls. There was an architectural design to it that Blake had not expected. Someone creative and skilled had designed this spaceport. “It’s all really… artistic.”

     “That’s a unique way of describing it.”

     “Well, the design. It’s not like what I imagined. It’s pretty.”

    The closer they got, the clearer individual vessels appeared. They were all relatively large. There wasn’t really one ship smaller than Fen’s ship. Some ships were the size of cruise ships and some were even as long as two skyscrapers put together. There were different designs and Blake began to see which were used for freight and which were used for commercial transportation.

     “This is so cool.”

    “If you like this, wait until we get to the family vessel,” said Maro. He sounded amused.

     Blake turned back to him. “Will there be a waiting period before we take off?”

     “No. The crew is already on board, the ship removed from the hangar. It’s already received fuel and supplies were loaded yesterday. Everything should have been checked and double checked already, the engines powered up. They are waiting for us. We will not even need to enter the port. This transport docks directly to the ship.”

    “How big of a crew?”

    “Too big.”

    “We can’t have a ship that size without the proper crew, Lynti.”

     “If we didn’t have a ship that size…”

    Blake snickered. No, this was definitely not going to be a nightmare. These two were funny.

    “Blake,” began Maro, again he sounded amused. “If you like, you can be allowed two vid calls this week. But only for this week.”

     “Yes!” Blake blasted Maro with the smile his son had fallen in love with. “Yeah, thanks!”

     Lynti turned to her husband and smiled the soft smile that he had fallen in love with. 

* * *

     Blake was too excited now to be nervous. The talking with Lynti and Maro helped a great deal with that. They were cool people. Seemed younger than they appeared. And he could tell they genuinely wanted him to enjoy this voyage. Just as Maro said, the transport glided up straight to a vessel hovering a few hundred feet away from part of the space port, just outside a gigantic hangar, where the huge doors were still open. And the ship. The ship was way bigger than he imagined for a family vessel. It was one of the vessels the size of a cruise ship. Four levels, dozens of windows, somewhat long. There were even parts of the ship that had huge bubble like windows which seemed to make up most of the rooms. He was pretty sure it would be amazing inside. He couldn’t wait to get a tour of the engine rooms. A ship like that had to have multiple engine rooms.

    “Holy cow,” he muttered. “This is the family transport?!”

    “You see?!” Lynti exclaimed at her husband.

    “There’s other passengers right? Aside from us and the crew?”

    Maro shifted in his seat and he looked kind of embarrassed now. “No. Only us.”

     Blake laughed under his breath. “Well… Fen did say you guys are kind of royalty. Suppose it fits. But do you ever see each other when you’re traveling on it?” he asked with a teasing grin.

     Lynti laughed when Maro squirmed a little, catching on that Blake was teasing. “When we travel we lack for nothing,” Maro replied evenly. He’d caught on to Blake’s teasing and even though he wasn’t really smiling, Blake could see good humor in his eyes. He had crow’s feet too. Not as defined as Zarth’s, but it was there.

     “Will I be able to see the engines?”

     “Of course!” Maro answered. “There’s no part of the ship restricted to you, Blake. We want you to feel comfortable there. This is your home away from home.”

     “I think… this is going to be a great trip.”

     Lynti smiled brightly at him. “All your things have already been brought on board, plus some extra. The wardrobe we shopped for and ordered was sent straight here from the shops.”

    Blake’s eyes gleamed. He couldn’t wait to get his hands on the clothes and shoes he and Lynti had shopped for the previous week. That had been fun, shopping for clothes with her. She had a great eye for fashion. Probably where Zari got it from. He was going to miss his glyder parts though. He never thought to ask if he could take it with him.

     “As I said, you’ll be able to go anywhere in the ship, but you do have a set of rooms for your personal use. Bedroom, washroom. Dining room and sitting room. Though I do hope you will join us for meals…”

     “Yeah, of course,” he said to Maro.

    The transport pulled up alongside the large vessel, docking with an outer door on the top second level, near the front of the ship. Blake stood when Lynti and Maro stood and then followed them down the aisle to a door slightly down the way. Blake noticed the soldiers standing behind to follow them. Lynti held Blake back at the door while Maro continued on into the flight deck. Probably to speak to the captain of the transport. And then the door slid open to reveal a large open room. In fact it could have been plucked straight from the estate on Solndaire. There was carpet on the floor and the walls were gleaming warm wood, the lighting was crystal and porcelain and Blake got the strangest feeling of déjà vu again.

     He shook it off as clearly impossible and followed Lynti on to the family craft. Immediately he noticed the six people sanding several feet away, all standing in a line. All smiling brightly at them. Lynti walked straight to them, taking hold of Blake’s wrist to keep him with her. She stopped in front of the first two people. A man and woman. The man was human but the woman was not. She was a head taller than Blake. Her cheekbones were very prominent, extraordinarily defined, as well as her small but pointed nose, and her ears were long and somewhat pointed at the tips. She had long orange hair and her skin was a gleaming grey blue color. Again he was mesmerized. She was fascinating to look at.

     “Blake, these two are Myurgal,” she gestured to the woman, “and Leyar,” she indicated the man and they both nodded to him. Then Lynti smiled at Blake. “Blake has come to live with us and will be travelling with us. He is unused to this,” she gestured around to indicate the ship in general.

     “Should you need anything at all, please do not hesitate to call on us,” Leyar said and Myurgal nodded.

     “Myurgal and Leyar basically run the ship, Blake. The attending crew. They have been with us for many years.”

     “Nice to meet you,” he replied lowly, nodding to them.

     Lynti turned back to the two and smiled. “Fenwyn and Blake will be married at the end of the season.”

     _Well wow,_ Blake thought dazedly. _She just came right out and said it_. Hardly seeing the excited smiles on not only Myurgal and Leyar’s faces, but the remaining four attendants faces as well.

    “This is why we had to cut your breaks short and call you back,” Lynti went on to explain. The attendants didn’t seem to mind that their vacation had been cut short at all. Not after her declaration.

     Very shortly after Maro reappeared and Blake was being ushered through the room and into another part of the ship. It wasn’t far from where they started, though they did ride an air lift up to the topmost level. Blake was too busy trying to take in every little detail that he continuously missed the calculating looks Lynti and Maro would frequently give him.

     They brought him into what he assumed was a sitting room. With lots of chairs, a few hover lounges, and sofas. Refreshment tables here and there. The room was smaller than the disembarking room. It seemed less formal too. “Do you have parties on this ship?”    

    “Of course.”

     “Huh.”

     The room also had large bay windows above them and on each side. That was kind of strange. Sitting in a chair and seeing stars and space wherever he looked. But it was also pretty freaking cool. Especially when he was made to sit down, served some sort of drink and he was able to watch the ship glide away from the spaceport. The vessel curved away and down and Solndaire became visible. _Fen._ He gripped his glass tightly as they continued to maneuver away, down below Solndaire. It was really hard to pull his eyes away from the planet which contained the rest of his life, but he made himself do it, conscious of the two people sitting just a few feet away from him. But when he saw they were pretending not to notice he was pining away already, he went back to watching the planet until he couldn’t see it anymore.

     Not long after they cleared Solndaire, he heard a bell ringing from all directions. It rang three times. An attendant appeared and took away their drinks with a quick smile before rushing away. “Relax back,” Maro instructed as he relaxed back in his own chair and gripped the arm rests. “We’re about to jump into hyperspace.”

     Blake immediately mirrored the action, just as Lynti was doing, slightly worried since they weren’t wearing restraints. Another bell rang, twice this time, announcing the jump was imminent. The jump wasn’t anywhere near as jarring as it had been upon Fen’s ship. He mentioned this.

     “Ah well… Fen’s craft is an older model. He saved up his credits to buy her. Not everything on it is state of the art. We’ve come a long way in regards to hyperspace travel, thanks to the Cyruvians. One Cyruvian in particular.”

     Blake leaned closer in interest. Lynti nodded. “Yes. He’s the Empress’s _Dominae_. Her husband. A brilliant man. Kemt’I.” She then smiled dreamily. “They were childhood sweethearts. The Court tried to denounce their relationship because Kemt’I was not of the Royal Court.” The lady snorted. “Try to deny the Light anything.”

     “This is where we are headed. We’ll start our tour in the Cyruvian Empire. They are close allies of ours.”

     “How long before we get to our first destination?” Blake asked, knowing the edge of the Cyruvian Empire was at least as far away as Earth.

    “Not long. Three days.”

     Blake was suitably shocked. “But it took three weeks to get to Solndaire from Earth.”

     “I did say Fen’s ship is sorely outdated.”

     Blake snickered. “He’d hate to hear you say that.”

     Maro nodded in agreement.

* * *

 “You don’t like traveling on this thing? What’s wrong with you?!” Blake demanded several hours later the moment his vid call with Fen connected.

    Fen blinked, not having expected that. “It’s too big!” he defended.

    “You’ve been listening to your mom.”

    Fen huffed out a laugh. “And it never goes where I want.”

   “Your parents are really funny. I like them a lot.”

    “That’s good.”

     Blake nodded and then grinned. “And this vessel goes way faster than your raggedy ass ship.” There was that dark look, severe frown. Blake laughed. “Come on, Fen. You know I love her.”

     “I’m going to tell her you said that and the next time you try to maintenance her, she’ll probably slap you again,” Fen replied lowly.

     Blake laughed. Fen’s severe frown melted away. “So your parents gave me a little tour of this cruise ship. I wanted to ask… is Kessle the only Tefmau your family has fostered?”

     “So far, yes.”

     It was really nice to know how loved Kessle was in the family. The sun baths on the ship confirmed that, unless… “do you sun bathe?”

     Fen laughed, understanding what Blake was getting at. “Those ponds are for Kessle and his people whenever they happen to travel with us.”

     “That’s really nice.” Blake’s eyes brightened. “It was Zarth’s idea, wasn’t it?”

     Fen nodded.

     “You didn’t answer my question though. Do you sun bathe, Fen?” just thinking about it. Miles of tan skin and muscle under the gleaming sun. He had to bite off a moan.

     “No.”

     “Why not?” he snapped, tremendously disappointed.

     “Just not my thing.” When he saw the disappointment in Blake’s eyes, he laughed.

     “Maybe you’ll make it a thing you do…”

     “Babe, for you I’ll try anything.”

     Blake seriously tried to keep from melting in his chair. Fen’s cocky smirk told him he failed.

     They talked for a long while, with Fen giving him advice on which parts of the ship he should definitely utilize- the holographic deck sounded fascinating- and what he could look forward to seeing once they reached the Cyruvian Empire. Blake went on to tell him how excited he actually was to be going on this trip despite missing him. Fen told him what he’d done that day, and what Zarth was making him do the following weeks. He briefly mentioned Ferala, in that she had already gone back to Porlsei. The entire household seemed to breathe easier. Though Fen also said they hadn’t seen the last of her and she would no doubt come back nastier.

     “Kessle’s set to leave the beginning of next week… Zarth’s not been in a great mood.”

     _No I bet he hasn’t._ Blake liked to think he was perceptive of other people and so he was absolutely certain Kessle’s secret wasn’t so one-sided. “So… this _thing_ with your family… is this an instance when it can be a curse?”

     Fen’s eyes sharpened on his face and then he shook his head. “Should have known you would see it.”

     “Yes you should have.”

     “Circumstances are different, but I guess. Yeah. It’s really complicated.”

     “The Alpha thing.”

     “That’s one part of it, sure.”

     “Fen, is this vid call secure? Can anyone else view this?”    

     “No. I made sure of it. I don’t trust Ferala not to try and get her hands on this even if she’s no longer on Solndaire. I’m pretty sure she still has spies in the household.”

     Blake nodded. He dropped his eyes to the transparent screen controls and bit his lip. Wondering if he should say… he had Kessle’s trust, but this was Fen. And he wanted to help. Those two were madly in love with each other. “Um… Kessle accidently let it slip to me that he’s in love with Zarth. He said it seems like he’s been in love with him his whole life.”

    Fen digested that really quickly and a smile sprung up on his face. That excited boyish smile. “I knew it!”

     “Please don’t say, though. I promised Kessle I wouldn’t tell anyone. I kind of feel guilty for telling you.”

     “They would have the cutest litter.”

     Blake snorted out a laugh. Not something he expected a roughened spacer to say. But that wasn’t really all there was to Fen. He was many things and Blake loved it all. “But… they’re both guys.”

     “Yeah, so?”

     Okay. Maybe it was a Tefmau thing. “Huh. So guess what?” he went on with a sexy smirk, lifting his hands to the first button of his tunic and quickly undoing it. Fen’s eyes zeroed in on that. The spacer swallowed thickly.

    “What?” Fen demanded roughly. Three buttons were already undone and those fingers weren’t stopping.

    “Since you said this was a secure line, I’ve come up with some fun things for us to do. You in?”

     “Blake, if you stop I swear I’ll punch you.”    

* * *

While Blake was delighting Fen in his obvious lack of nerves in getting naked on screen, Lynti and Maro were discussing serious matters within their personal resting quarters.

     “Lynti, we must not jump to conclusions.”

    “Maro! You thought the same! Diaeran! And Blake’s face and hair! It can’t be a coincidence!”

    “What are the odds, Lynti? Fen finds this boy on a planet inhabited by billions of people. Finds Diaeran and this boy… They died, love. There was no escape.”

     “But we don’t know that for sure! And we know they escaped the plague, Maro. Maybe they escaped the earthquakes too.”

     Maro conceded this was true. “He would remember, Lynti. Kiira’s son… he was old enough to remember such a thing. Blake would say if he were Kiira’s son. But he knows nothing.”

     “We don’t know that for sure either.”

     “I suppose we could sit him down. Ask him. Ask for more details about his guardian.”

     “He said… his guardian thought Fen looked a lot like his father. Maro, how would he know that unless he knew you? Unless it is our Diaeran.”

     Maro was silent some time, watching his wife pace. “I think instead of asking Blake, we should ask Fen. Maybe he knows details Blake left out. I wouldn’t want to upset the boy.”

     Lynti paused and then moved to sit beside him. She dropped her face into her hands and pulled in a shuddering breath. “He looks just like her, Maro. He looks just like…”

     “He does have a striking resemblance to her boy. Briion.”

     “He was so sweet.” Lynti laughed. “Remember when he and Fen would play together? They would get into so much trouble. Remember we would always find Briion taking things apart so he could put it back together again? Fenwyn was heartbroken when Briion died.”

     Maro wrapped an arm around his wife. “Tomorrow we’ll contact Fen.” 

* * *

      Lynti took her husband up on that and they contacted Fen so early that he was pulled awake before he usually awoke in the mornings. He glared at them. Maro found this amusing. He knew Blake and Fen had been up half the night speaking via the vid call. Fen answered the call in the Family parlor. He and Zarth were together. Lynti and Maro didn’t mind this. Zarth could keep Fen calm if this should get emotional for him and it probably would.

     “We wanted to ask you something, Fen.”

     “I’m listening.”

     “Blake mentioned his guardian yesterday. Diaeran.”

     Fen sucked in a breath. “I’ve been meaning to ask you about that. Diaeran said he met you, Dad. A long time ago.”

     “Go on,” Maro instructed, taking Lynti’s hand and giving it a squeeze when it looked like she was going to jump forward.

     Fen nodded. “Yeah. And he left Blake a lockbox. I’m absolutely sure it has answers about where Blake comes from. I… I don’t think he comes from Earth. But I could be wrong. I don’t know, but nothing makes sense about him or the circumstances. All I do know is Earth did not fit him.”

     Lynti and Maro shared a long look before turning back to him. Lynti smiled softly at her son, knowing she was about to drudge up something painful and hating to do it. But she felt it must be done. “You remember Kiira, don’t you?”

    “Of course, Mother,” answered Fen, frowning in confusion.

    “And her son. You two were best friends. You remember him?”

    Fen was quiet a moment. “Yes, of course I remember him,” he answered lowly and it was clear he was annoyed they were bringing up this painful topic. Zarth moved over to press against his brother’s side.

    “What was his name, son?” Maro asked. “What was Kiira’s son’s name?”

    “What’s this about?”

    “Fen, answer.”

    “Briion. His name was Briion.” There was silence, from both sides. Fen’s parents watching their son’s face. Watching as the long buried memories surfaced. “Briion…” Fen shot to his feet, staring wide eyed into the screen. “Stars, Mom! Diaeran was Briion’s uncle!”

     “Blake knew what moolsan were before anyone told him,” Zarth put in from beside Fen. “I asked how he knew that and he said either Zari or Fen must have told him but the look on his face indicated he didn’t quite believe that himself. He looked… confused.”

     “And he fixed my engine! Perfectly! It can’t be… Blake is Briion? Why… Why didn’t I recognize him before? Why didn’t I see it?!”

     “Briion’s death was so painful for you, Fen. You pushed it and him away after a time. You were inconsolable for months and months,” Maro whispered. “To the point where we thought about bringing you to a mind healer. And then you started your fostering with Kessle’s people. And when you returned, we realized you pushed his memory away and we perhaps unwisely let you be. We thought that was best.”

    “Blake is Briion,” whispered Fen, eyes wide blown. He looked to his brother and Zarth had the same look on his face.

    “We don’t know that,” Maro stated firmly when Lynti began to smile with hope, with excitement. “We do not know that.”

    “But it makes sense, Father! I still don’t know why Blake stood out to me so much. This is why!”

     “Tell me,” Maro instructed.

     “It wasn’t that he looked familiar… it was, I don’t know. Something about him kept me watching him. I watched him for weeks and weeks! He stood out way more than anyone else had on that planet. And then he ended up being the mechanic I was looking for! And Diaeran told me! He told me to take Blake with me when I go. He said Blake didn’t belong there.”

     “Maro, it has to be,” Lynti whispered. “He’s Briion. He’s Kiira’s son. He’s come back to us.”

     All three of them. Fen, Zarth, and Lynti had that wide excited smile on their faces. Maro couldn’t join in. He needed more facts. “Bring that lock box, Fen.”

     Fen nodded rapidly. “I should do it now. It won’t take me long to get to you. I’ll take Zarth’s ship.”

     Maro smiled wryly and Zarth snorted. “Nice try.”

    “But, Dad! You’ve just… I need to see him! Can’t I call him at least?”

     “No. You need to calm down. You already spoke with him yesterday. Wait until the end of the week. We must be delicate in this. It seems, if he is Briion, that he has no memory of his past. And I’m still not sure we’re arriving at the right conclusion.”

     “Father, it is him,” Zarth announced with no trace of hesitation. “It all fits.”

     “Then how, Zarth? Explain that to me.” When Zarth could not, Maro nodded. “We need to be sure.”

     “You’re the only one who isn’t,” Fen muttered.

     “I refuse to upset Blake with these speculations, Fen! We need positive proof!”

    Fen blew out a breath and backed away from the screen. “I need to go feed Sheba.” And then he was gone, leaving Zarth to face his parents. Maro’s face was hard. Zarth understood his reasoning. They would have to wait for that lockbox. They would have to wait for more information. Still he couldn’t help feeling excited. Blake was Briion.

     When the vid call ended, Maro released a breath. That had been hard.

     “Can we go see him? Please, Maro.”

    “Yes, Lynti. But not one word about any of this to him yet. We don’t know for sure. As I said we don’t want to upset him.”

    “Of course.”

   They headed for Blake’s personal quarters and as soon as they stepped inside his sitting room, they stopped short at what they saw. Blake was kneeling on the ground. Pieces of a hover lounge around him. Blake had a huge grin on his face as he handled one of the inner pieces. But as soon as he noticed them, his eyes widened in horror and he jumped to his feet, standing in front of the carnage with his hands spread out.

     “I’m gonna put it back together, I swear!”

     It was at that moment when Maro’s smile matched that of his wife’s and sons. When he allowed the hope and excitement to take hold. Lynti’s hands flew up to her mouth, her eyes filling with such joy. And Maro didn’t have the heart to stop her from rushing across the room to grab Blake and embrace him tightly. To scare the living daylights out of the boy because he had no idea why he was being given this spontaneous enthusiastic hug or why Lynti was murmuring happily into his hair.

* * *

 “Fen?”

     Zarth approached his brother, who was slouched in a chair, holding in his hands a holopic book. It was open on one page and the picture was displayed above it in holographic clarity.

     Fen cleared his throat, staring at the two faces being shown to him. A picture of two boys who were laughing together after having caused some sort of mischief. He couldn’t remember exactly what they had just done. He could only remember that feeling of joy and fun and everlasting companionship. “Blake…it’s him, Zarth,” he whispered hoarsely, lifting a hand to the holopic. “He’s Briion.”

     Zarth dropped his hand to his brother’s shaking shoulder. “It appears so.”

     “I haven’t seen his face, haven’t looked at this in over fifteen years. Maybe that’s why I didn’t recognize him when I met him on Earth.”

     “It makes sense. You pushed the memory of him away.”

     Fen snapped the book closed. “It happened so fast, Zarth. One day he was just gone. They closed the borders but because we knew the family was safe from the plague… I never imagined I’d never see him again. That night… we spoke. I called him. He was fine. Laughing. We were talking about the races we planned to go to once the border restrictions were lifted. He wanted to build his own speeder. And then the next day the earthquakes and he was gone…”

     Zarth moved to crouch in front of his brother. Lifting his hands to his brother’s face, lifting Fen’s face until their eyes met. Fen’s eyes were brimming with unshed tears. “You have him back now, Fen. And you’re going to hold on to him.”

    Fen pulled in a shaky breath, stared at his brother. “But what if Father is right? What if it’s not him?”

    “Look at that picture again and tell me you don’t think it’s him. Beyond that, even if it’s not. You still have Blake. Would it make a difference?”

     “No. I just…” Fen located the picture again. Studied that carefree smile and those bright hazel eyes. He was looking at a young version of Blake. “Briion.”

     “You loved Briion.” Fen nodded. “Not in the same way of course, not at that point. But it is Briion. And this would have happened regardless.”    

     “Do you think Mom and Dad will stop this stupid test if that lockbox confirms it?”

     Zarth laughed and stood. “Doubtful.”

     Fen growled in frustration.


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Joy Ride**

**Chapter Twelve**

"Zarth, what is wrong?"

Zarth turned to find Kessle standing just feet away on the garden path, peering at him worriedly. _Aside from the fact you will be married off to someone else in three months?_ "Nothing is wrong, exactly. In fact, you could even say we've been brought joyous news."

Kessle erased the distance between them and they began to walk the path through the gardens together with Mirra keeping a respectable ten paces behind. Without fail, Kessle's tail rose up to wrap around his thigh. Zarth didn't make an outward reaction, but his breath hitched when that tail wrapped around higher than normal.

"Well? What is this news?"

"Blake," Zarth whispered. "Blake appears to be someone from our past. We lost people very close to us in the earthquakes… right before you came here for your fostering. Kiira, my mother's dear friend and her son Briion, whom Fen was very close to. But now, somehow, it appears Blake is Briion."

Kessle inclined his head, staring off into the distance. "He does have a strange lilt to his voice for an Earthling."

"You think it could be true?"

"It is very possible. He doesn't seem like someone who has come from such a juvenile species. I've heard him practicing your language, Zarth. He's very good."

"It would be wonderful… Fen was devastated, Kessle. When Briion died. I didn't think my brother would ever be the same again. In fact I don't think he ever was. He seems… since he's come back with Blake, he seems different. In a good way."

"The powers of the universe, my dear Zarth. The universe has reunited them."

Zarth smiled indulgently. "Ever the romantic, Kessle."

Kessle cleared his throat. "It's just that I'm pleased when things work out. You know I adore Fen and Blake is wonderful. They are a beautiful match if ever I saw one."

Zarth laughed. "Yes, and they were quite the pair as children. It seems Blake has no memory of his past life. If he is Briion, there are so many questions needing to be answered but we may never discover the truth."

"Blake is Blake now, Zarth. That should not be forgotten. If he has no memory, do not treat him like this Briion. He is Blake."

"Of course."

"It would be wise to remind Fenwyn of this."

Zarth nodded and pretended not to notice Kessle's tail had risen just slightly, but his blood pressure was steadily climbing. The tail was impossible to ignore now and Kessle seemed oblivious to its location. If he didn't know Kessle so well, he would almost swear Kessle was doing it on purpose.

"Zarth? Have you… Have you thought any more about my predicament?"

Zarth took his elbow and steered his friend over to the nearby bench. "I told you not to worry."

"Easier said than done."

"I've already come up with some options…"

Kessle settled beside him, pressing against his side. He glanced at him with amusement. "Do any of those options involve death?"

"I will have my way," said Zarth firmly and Kessle sighed happily and shifted over onto his lap. "I will need to consult with Mother and Father. Let them know what's going on. Will this be a problem?" he went on as he lifted a hand and began to scratch behind a pointed ear.

Kessle purred and pressed his face against Zarth's neck. "Nnoo."

Then that tail rose again to wrap around him and it was definitely positioned higher than normal. Way too high. Maddeningly high. So high he was starting to react to the feeling of that appendage around his thigh. He'd had years of practice being able to push away his body's need to react to Kessle's displays of affection, but this was nearly too much. This was torture. "…Kessle?"

"Hmm?"

Did he want that tail to move? No. "Never mind."

Kessle rubbed the top of his head against the underside of Zarth's chin. "Zarth, about your messages…"

"I have a solution for that as well."

"I fear my clan is trying to keep us apart."

"This is the conclusion I have come to as well."

"Probably to do with my intended. He knows of you, the Galadors of the Three Worlds. He does not want our continued association."

"It probably is a stipulation in the contract. The Yenyt are not strong allies of our system."

Talk like this was making him angry. He would not have Kessle hidden away. Mistreated or unloved. It was not to be borne.

Kessle sighed and lifted his face to lick the underside of Zarth's chin. "You're doing it again."

"Sometimes you like it when I leave my happy place," Zarth murmured in amusement.

"Yes, but not now. It is peaceful here and we have good news to think of. How is Fenwyn?"

"He's in a state of shock, I think. The fact that he did not recognize Blake as Briion…"

"He doesn't feel guilty, does he?"

"I think he feels he should have known immediately… but if he is Briion and he lived the way he did on that planet, he would have changed. His circumstances were not ideal. As Blake he was no longer the happy little boy I nor Fen remembers… though that seems to be changing. And again, we could be wrong about all this."

Kessle started to continuously bump to top of his head against Zarth's chin until the man understood he was demanding to be pet. He smiled when Zarth laughed and started to run his fingers along his thick tan fur over the top of his head and down the back of his neck. "But you do not want to be."

"No. I did not know Briion as thoroughly as Fen did as they were very close in age and were hardly ever separated, but I knew him as one of the family along with his mother and uncle. Their deaths shattered us, Kessle. It was a time of horror for everyone on the planet. The plague and then earthquake after earthquake until the entire city was gone."

The tail rose higher still and as Kessle face was hidden under his chin, Zarth did not see the shy embarrassed flush of Kessle's face from these bold new actions of his.

"So… many questions," Zarth murmured absently and shifted slightly. "Kessle, is it not time for your sun bath?" he asked lowly.

"Lovely idea!"

"Yes, well…" Zarth cleared his throat and nudged Kessle off him. When they were both standing and that tail was no longer impeding his thought processes, Zarth stared at his face with slightly narrowed eyes. Kessle had already composed himself and Zarth didn't see a difference. "I'll leave you to it."

"Will you not join me this time? Zarth, you never join me anymore. It's been many years…"

"No, I cannot. I have work to do."

He wouldn't say the real reason was because some years ago he had to stop taking sun baths with Kessle when he realized he was intensely attracted to the Tefmau. It was hard enough when Kessle was walking around normally. Tefmau did not like restricting cloth rubbing against the fur and so their fashion usually consisted of soft lightweight and nearly transparent materials for everyday wear. And the males hardly ever wore tunics of any sort. They generally wore outer coats, leaving their chests bare. Even now Zarth could see through Kessle's outer coat; could just make out the outline of his muscular legs through his dark blue trousers.

"I really do have some work to do," he repeated softly upon Kessle's disappointed look. "After your sun bath, come and find me."

Kessle's ears twitched. He then nodded and spun around to take the path to the ponds. "Very well."

Even now he could see through that material. If he stared hard enough he could see every inch of the Tefmau from behind. Kessle was a luscious creature. "Stars."

* * *

"You're leaving?"

Tyk hissed under his breath and grabbed at his drink. At least it wasn't Zari to have snuck up on him. He was always useless arguing with her. "What's it to you?"

Fen leaned back on his stool, eyeing the crowds in the back alley tavern. Mostly spacers and everything that entailed. He wasn't given a second look due to his clothes. He was happy to be back in his spacer attire, and everything _that_ entailed. It wasn't exactly a place a Galador was expected to be in either.

"We're kind of hoping you'd wait until Blake comes back."

"We?"

"Zari, Zarth, and myself."

"What's your brother got to do with it?"

Fen grinned and didn't answer. Instead he gestured for the bartender to come and take his damn order already.

"Oh. Much," Zarth answered as he dropped onto the stool next to him. He also grinned when Tyk nearly fell off his stool in surprise.

"Bloody Zari."

"She doesn't know we're here," Zarth replied with an easy smile.

"Of course she doesn't," was Fen's input. "Otherwise she'd be here, wanting to kick your ass for trying to sneak off planet without saying goodbye."

Tyk slouched down on his stool. Completely uncomfortable to be squished in between the brothers. He glanced to his right, studying the older one. Amazed by what a change of style of clothing could do for a person. Zarth looked like a spacer too and not like a prince of an almighty solar system. He also looked very capable of pulling anything off.

"She'd only convince me to stay. What do you two want? Surely you'd be happy to see the tail end of me?"

"We know you're Cyruvian," Fen whispered just before the bartender finally made an appearance. He let that sink in. They were mainly silent a few minutes while he and Zarth ordered and collected their drinks. Tyk had gone completely pale. Not since he left home had he been pegged as a Cyruvian.

"What is it?" Zarth inquired as he studied the slightly tan skin. Cyruvians were generally pale gray blue. "Pigment modification? Hopefully not irreversible."

Tyk was silent for a long time and the brothers let him be. Happy enough to sit there nursing drinks and studying their surroundings.

"How did you know that?" Tyk finally asked, his voice low and barely heard. "Zari doesn't even know that."

"The thing about us. We like to dig deep," Fen told him. "Give us a crumb and we'll find the bakery."

"Zari," whispered Tyk, shaking his head; eyes beginning to burn with anger. "Zari betrayed me."

"There's no one more loyal to you than our sister," Fen hissed in his ear. "Ungrateful ass!"

"That's why we're here," Zarth said with much more calm, shooting his brother a warning look. "Zari asked for our help and we've decided to do it. She wants your life back. We're going to give it back to you. We're in the position to do so. The question is do you want your life back, Tyk? Do you want to be able to go home?"

"Think about it," Fen said as he moved from the stool as he brother was doing. "Let us know."

Tyk held tightly to his cup and watched the brothers leave the tavern. When he couldn't see them anymore, he stared into the drink; studied his refection from the surface of the liquid. Damning his appearance and thinking about the possibilities. These guys… these guys had an army. These guys weren't afraid to get dirty either. Though he'd only seen one brother in action, he knew without doubt Zarth was also a force to be reckoned with. Zari also. But would it be enough?

Fen and Zarth walked a few yards away from the entrance of the tavern, down the narrow road before Zarth leaned against the wall.

"What do you think?" Fen asked, taking a stand in front of his brother.

"It will be a dangerous challenge, but one I think we can handle."

Fen shook his head. "No. I mean do you think he'll take the offered help? Cyruvians are stubborn."

Zarth smirked and not a minute later, Tyk burst into the street, saw them and headed straight for the brothers. "They are also a proud people and dislike hiding and running."

They turned and started walking and a moment later, Tyk fell into step between them. "I ask again," Zarth started. "Is it irreversible?"

"No."

"Very good."

* * *

Blake ran into his room, locked the door, and then dashed over to his personal view port. There was a bright red spot flashing on the transparent screen indicating he had a call waiting. It had been a week since he'd last spoken to Fen and it felt like an eternity.

He smiled broadly when Fen's face appeared before him. "Hey!" Fen wasn't smiling. He was being stared at strangely. "Fen? What's the matter?"

Fen cleared his throat, eyes sweeping across Blake's face. "Blake…" he cleared his throat again, and then he was smiling. "Hey, babe."

"Seriously, Fen. What's the matter?"

"Nothing's wrong really. I just got some news last week and it's kind of thrown me off. Nothing bad though. So did you get my surprise?"

For a moment it looked like Blake wasn't going to drop it, but then he was back to smiling and nodding. "Yeah. Thanks! I never even thought to bring the glyder parts. Should have known you would do it though. You're always thinking of me."

"Always."

"Can I tell you I miss you?"

Fen threw him that disarming smile. "If you didn't I'd be insulted."

"I miss you."

"Miss you too. Blake, you don't know how much."

"I think I do."

"No. You don't," Fen said lowly, firmly. "You don't remember anything do you?"

"Whoa, Fen. What's that?"

Fen cursed under his breath and turned away. He blew out a breath. And now Blake was starting to slightly panic. What was going on? Fen was acting really strange.

"Blake, hold on."

Blake nodded mutely and watched Fen walk out of view. He heard a door open out of sight. There was some muffled talking. And then Fen returned and behind him, Blake saw Zarth walk in and take a seat at the back of the room. He was only half in the picture, but he was still fucking there.

"Are we being chaperoned now?"

Fen tried to laugh it off but Blake knew him too well to be fooled by it. "No. Zarth just wanted a chance to talk to you."

"Huh." Blake waited. Waited for Zarth to come up so they could talk. He didn't really want anyone in the room when he spoke with Fen. Not that he planned on getting naked or anything, but it just felt better with just the two of them. And then he realized Fen was lying. Fen just didn't want to be alone with him. "What have you been up to then?"

"This and that." And that's all he got.

"You know, um… I forgot I promised to read something for your dad. For our next stop. I should go do that."

Fen blinked when the transmission suddenly cut off. He then groaned and started to bang his head over and over against the console.

Zarth shook his head. "Not surprising. You could have handled that much better and I should have remained out of sight."

"I would have said something without you here. I already said too much."

"Fen, do you love Blake?"

"You know I do!"

"Then when you look at him, make sure you're seeing Blake. Clearly he's not Briion anymore." Zarth stood and headed for the door. "Try to call him back. Father won't mind this time. Get it together, Fen. Or you might do some harm."

Fen blew out a breath and nodded. "Yeah. Okay. Thanks."

Zarth left the room, doubting his brother would get Blake back on the line. Not tonight. He'd already learned how stubborn Blake could be.

"Zarth!"

Said man looked up and barely managed to smile. Kessle was striding down the hall, his tail swinging back and forth in agitation. He was clearly annoyed. "Kessle."

"Zarth, you know I have to leave. Making me hunt you down is not going to change that. You know how I hate my scheduling messed with. We'll be late."

"Sounds like you are desperate to get away."

Kessle hissed at him. Zarth felt himself relax as a truly amused smile lit his face. "Don't be ridiculous," the Tefmau grabbed his arm and jerked him down the corridor. "You know I wouldn't leave unless I had to."

"I will be speaking to Mother and Father shortly. About the situation." Kessle cocked his head, waiting for more. Zarth turned, made sure Mirra wasn't paying too much attention. He dropped his voice down to a whisper and pulled a gleaming flat silver bracelet from his pocket and pressed it under the fingers holding onto his arm. "This is for you. To make sure you receive any transmissions I send you. Lay it next to any receiver and it will pick up."

Kessle smiled and rubbed his cheek against Zarth's shoulder. "Clever human."

"Your time here is never enough," Zarth murmured when they walked out to the landing pad.

"I concur. But we shall see each other again shortly."

There was so much Zarth wanted to say, but could never say it. Just like all the times before, all he could do is keep smiling and say good bye and not in the way he wanted. And each time it tore at him. Tore at him until he thought he'd rather be dead.

* * *

"Kessle had another motive for visiting without prior warning," Zarth began. "A problem has arisen and I must act."

Maro and Lynti glanced at each other before refocusing on the screen. Zarth's usual cheerful visage was flat all around. His eyes troubled. "You seek our permission?"

"Yes, sir."

"What is the problem, son?" Lynti asked.

"Mother, his clan… his clan has made arrangements for him to be paired at the end of the season. It is not something he wants and I cannot let it happen."

Lynti and Maro were very aware of their son's feelings for Kessle. He was their son after all. It was also painful to see the blessing twisted in such a way, especially for Zarth, who was genuinely one of the nicest people you could ever meet under most circumstances. He never admitted to them of his feelings, but they could see it all the same.

"What do you ask of us?"

"I will need freedom in negotiation. Kessle's clan will want something in return."

"If this is for Kessle's well being, you know you have permission to do whatever it takes," Maro announced firmly. "We will stand by you and Kessle no matter the outcome."

"I am not sure how this will turn out, Father. I only know I will not allow Kessle to be married to the Yenyt."

Lynti gasped. "A Yenyt?! Surely not!"

"Yes."

"That's an awful match. A Yenyt and a Tefmau? I've never heard of such a thing! And a Tefmau such as Kessle? Utterly ridiculous!"

"As long as they can breed, a match is a match," Maro murmured. "What does Kessle's clan get from this?"

"Kessle says much wealth and status. Protection. The Tefmau's home planet is being attacked more and more in the recent years. This Yenyt is apparently high up in his people's council. He's promising planetary patrols. It isn't just Kessle's clan that wants this union…"

"I cannot see how that would ever work," Lynti murmured. "The Tefmau do not really get along with the Yenyt."

"Father…" it was clear Zarth needed to say more. It was more complicated.

"Once you've done what you need to do, this still will not be concluded," Maro surmised. "You say the Tefmau need help. We, as a system, must offer our assistance as part of the negotiations."

"Yes."

"Promise what you need to," Maro instructed firmly. "Your mother and I will do what can be done."

Zarth blew out a breath and finally smiled. "Thank you."

"Nonsense!" Lynti glared at him. "As if we'd allow someone else to steal Kessle from you."

The smile disappeared to be replaced by wariness. "Mother."

"Oh stop, Zarth. This has gone on long enough!"

Maro shifted and placed a hand on his wife's arm, shaking his head. Now wasn't the time for that.

Lynti leaned into him. "We should have had at least one litter of grandchildren by now!" she hissed in his ear. Maro laughed.

"You have our answer, Zarth."

"Thank you, Father. This will start at the Light's _Ornalia_. I'm told part of Kessle's clan will be there along with him and the Yenyt." Zarth smirked. "Though I'm not sure how long the Yenyt will be… among us."

Lynti sighed once the vid screen returned to being transparent. "We have sweet and evil children."

"Evil's a bit strong. Unforgiving may be a better description. And I wonder where they get that," he said with a side long look at his wife.

Lynti tisked as he stood. "We should call for Blake. It's time for the evening meal. Where is he?"

"Where he usually is when he's missing Fen."

The cargo bays. Where Fen had secretly deposited Blake's glyder parts as a surprise. Lynti had had the task of guiding Blake there a few days ago and seeing the pleasure spark Blake's eyes. The softness of thinking of Fen. She sat down and rubbed hands up and down her arms.

"Love? Can we not stop this test? After the _Ornalia_."

"Lynti-"

"It's not the right way!" she exclaimed, shooting to her feet. "Even if he isn't Briion! We've already seen Blake can handle himself. We've already seen he won't be scared by the universe. He wishes to know more. To learn more! Every planet and port we've taken him to he's handled himself extremely well! As if he were born into it! At least let Fen travel with us, Maro! It really isn't fair! We never had to do this and your parents were much worse!"

"I will give it some thought."

Once dinner was underway, he had to think about it. Blake was silent again during the meal, as he had been for breakfast and the following night. He was also almost always twisting the ring Fen gave him round and round his finger. Maro might have begun to think Blake was questioning whether he wanted the union or not, but Blake pushed that away when he finally did speak.

"Um… so what are weddings like? When Fen and I get married, what will the ceremony be like?"

Lynti smiled. "That will really be up to you and Fen."

"Yeah, but, being who you are. Who he is. Your Family… It's kind of a big thing, right?"

"Yes, but again, it's your day too, Blake. If you want it to be a quiet affair, then we'll make it a slightly quiet affair."

Blake laughed. "Okay, I have another question."

"Go on."

"So when we get married, will we have to live at the big house? Or can we find our own place? And if we can get our own place, can it be somewhere like… in outer space. Say like on a space ship?"

"More specifically, Fen's ship?" Lynti theorized.

Blake smiled sheepishly. "He promised to show me the stars."

Lynti turned to her husband with a look that was directly related to what they had been talking about before dinner.

"Blake, I was hoping to hear more about your guardian," Maro started. "For instance, what does he look like?"

Blake's smile dimmed a little. "Um… he's kind of short. Has dark hair but the hair on the sides of his face is white. His beard is white too. Not very long. When he talks, it's short and to the point. He doesn't talk a lot." Blake grinned. "He loves watching the television."

Maro's fingers had curled tightly around his glass upon the description of Blake's Diaeran. He'd just described Kiira's brother perfectly. His old friend. Was Diaeran truly alive somewhere?

Blake frowned a little, studying Maro. "He said he met you. At least… he said he met Fen's dad a long time ago, but that's you and you're not of Earth, so…"

"Blake, what's one of the earliest memories you have?" Maro demanded.

Blake sat back, took the question into consideration. Then he looked at Maro from the corner of his eye. His eyes wavered with uncertainty. "Diaeran and I were moving into the house. I remember not being very excited, not until I found Sheba in the back yard… I was thirteen," he ended in a whisper.

"That's your earliest memory?"

"That night," Blake went on slowly, "Diaeran brought me a birthday cake. It had thirteen candles on it…" Blake's eyes widened just slightly and Lynti placed a hand on Maro's arm. They were upsetting him. He'd never thought about it before. Lynti stared at her husband and he stared back. And they had the same thought. This was Briion. And still they had more questions than answers.

Maro gave her hand a squeeze. "I'll give it some thought," he said to her in response to what they were talking about before dinner.

"Fen was acting weird," Blake suddenly said and it seemed like he'd put what they were just talking about completely out of his mind. Maro took acute note of this. "The night before last. On the call. He even brought Zarth to sit in and he wouldn't really say anything about anything. You're his parents, but I still feel as if I can ask this of you and he said I could talk to you about anything and I really don't want to jump to conclusions…"

"Go on…"

"Does he even want to get married? Is that something he's wanted?"

"Not before you."

Maro then pitched over his plate while Lynti smiled coldly at him. "Maro, dear," she spoke through clenched teeth and pulled her foot back under her chair. "Let me answer his questions." She turned to Blake who had not missed a minute detail of that exchange and smiled at him. "Whoever thinks of marriage before they meet the one?"

"True." He grinned at Maro. "Your shin alright, sir?"

"Oh. Yes. I'm sure only a couple of fractures. Nothing to worry about. Happens all the time, spontaneous fractures."

"I bet."

Lynti cleared her throat and her nose lifted in the air a bit. Blake thought that was cute. "Besides," she went on, "yesterday he called to tell us he publicly announced your engagement. By now the whole of The Three Worlds and beyond knows about your upcoming union. I think if he were having second thoughts, announcing it would be the last thing he'd want."

Blake sucked in a delighted breath. "He did?"

"Yes."

As he dropped his eyes to his plate, he felt his smile was probably a little silly, but he really didn't give a damn.

* * *

They were at the last stop before arriving at the Light's _Ornalia_. A planet known as Cyruma, within the capital city of Tar. Blake walked alongside Maro down a busy street. The lighting was blue. Not due to street lamps or anything. It was some sort of moss which was allowed to grow on almost everything. The blue lighting was some sort of bio-luminescence and it made everything seem ethereal.

And it was night and yet he'd been told it was midday. This planet hardly received sunlight, but was able to sustain life by the generators which were taller than skyscrapers situated all around the planet. The generators mimicked an actual atmosphere. Blake promised himself that one day he would make a trip to one of these huge generators and get inside to see how they functioned.

"It's really beautiful here." He looked up into the sky, watching as vehicles zoomed back and forth in some pattern on an invisible sky road. The buildings around them were sleek, sophisticated and stretched high into the sky. People walked by in no sort of hurry; they made eye contact, nodded or spoke a brief hello. Cyruvians were classy in all ways. They did have that air of superiority, but under the circumstances, after all he learned about them, Blake knew they sort of were.

"Better than our last stop?" Maro asked in amusement.

Blake nodded. The last city they visited was another Cyruvian planet. An oceanic planet and the city had been entirely underwater. Built up from the ocean floor. There was beauty there too, much to be learned, but it had been nerve wracking being under water at all times. Seeing through transparent walls at the miles of water around. Knowing the huge dome was really the only thing holding the sea water at bay.

"That's not a place I would pick to vacation at."

"You are not the only one who feels that way. Lynti doesn't much care for Spyrndal either. Speaking of, we should be getting on to meet her. I'll never hear the end of it if we're late." Maro lifted his wrist and turned it so the inside was up. It was kind of like a watch, but it could really do everything. Maro tapped it twice and then swiped before dropping his hand to his side again.

"We can wait over there," he said, gesturing to one of the empty bench's lining the long pathway through the city center. "Shouldn't take long."

Once they were seated, Blake tried to keep sitting up straight, maintaining that perfect posture he'd been taught to hold from Maro. The man glanced at him and laughed. "Don't worry about it so much right now. It will be more important at the _Ornalia_. Relax, Blake."

Blake blew out a breath and happily slouched. "Will we meet her? The Empress?"

"Hard to say. So many attend the _Ornalia_ , it would be difficult for the Light of Cyruvi to meet and greet everyone individually."

"Have you ever met her?"

Maro nodded. "She knows of us, the Galadors. We've always had trade agreements with the Cyruvi Empire, as well as military assistance if the need arises. The Galadors have a place in the official Cyruvian court as ambassadors of our people. I met her twelve turns ago. She is nearing one hundred and seventy five years old. When you see her, no doubt her presence will shock you."

Blake's eyes widened. "How long do these people usually live?"

"The Light is different. No one knows for certain how long her life will be, but the average life span for Cyruvians is three hundred."

"Huh."

Maro studied the side of his face. "Blake, how old do you think I am?" Blake turned to him and also studied his face. He didn't want to be rude. "Go on. I will not be insulted."

"Late forties, early fifty's."

Maro smirked and lifted his eyes to the dark sky, standing. He then lifted a hand to point out a shuttle descending from the invisible sky path. "Here is our transport." A sleek black vehicle zoomed down and came to hover two feet off the ground. A door appeared at the back end and slid silently open for them. Before Maro climbed in, he turned to Blake. "I am nearing my eightieth turn."

"But you're not Cyruvian!" Blake hissed out as he slid onto the seat next to Maro, hardly giving the robotic driver a glance. He was already used to these things never being piloted by actual people. Sometimes there wasn't anything piloting the things. It was all automated.

"No. However, we as a species have lived for millions of years. We've evolved. Earth humans are still-"

"Infantile, yeah. That's so cool—wait, if that's true, how old is Fen?" he demanded. "Does that mean I'm going to grow old while he hardly ages?! How can you be okay with the relationship knowing this?"

Maro dropped a hand to Blake's shoulder. "There is no reason to get upset. There are many reasons why this is not an issue."

"Are you kidding me?! And Fen! Fen knew this whole time and didn't say a word!"

Maro winced. That was true. Fen knew even before they discovered Blake was actually Briion. But the fact was, "Fen fell in love with you, Blake. Nothing else matters. There wasn't anything else that mattered."

"I bet it'll matter to him when I look like a raison and he still looks like a grape!" Blake leaned forward and dropped his face into his hands. "It's a fruit. A type of fruit on Earth," he explained because he had seen Maro's confused expression before covering his eyes. "This is fucked up."

"Please don't use language like that at the _Ornalia_."

Blake felt anger seize him. "No problem," he ground out. "I know how I'm supposed to be. The perfect consort, right? Don't worry. I won't embarrass any of you. Consort, yeah that's a nice word. I'll just stand back and be silent."

Maro blew out a breath. "That's not what you are, what you'll become."

"No. I'm going to become an old man and die probably before Fen even gets one grey hair!"

"You won't, Blake."

Blake shook his head and turned to look out the window. They were out of the city center by now and rounding the edges where beyond there was nothing but beautiful jungle. Everything of that jungle was nocturnal, including the flora and fauna.

Maro tapped a finger on his knee, desperately wishing Lynti had been here to deal with this. Also wishing he could tell the young man beside him the truth. That it was very likely he was older than he thought he was and would age the same rate as Fen. But he wouldn't. He couldn't until they had positive proof.

Finally they reached their destination. It was a large home; House of the Lord of the capital city. It was a beautiful structure that was part city and part jungle. A party was being held in honor of the Lord's daughter who was recently promoted to Commanding Flight Officer within the Cyruvian Space Fleet.

"Blake, look at me," Maro commanded when the transport had glided to a stop at the end of the path leading into the household. When Blake raised his eyes, Maro shook his head. The boy looked so scared and angry. "It is not an issue," he stated. "Do you take me for a liar?"

"No. But it's not about it being an issue for Fen, is it? This is about me, how I feel. How I'll feel growing old in front of him."

Maro nodded in understanding. "Believe me when I say this issue will be resolved. It will not come to that. The Universe is vast and there is always a way and an answer. I swear this to you. I am not a man of many fancies, Blake. I would not say this to you if I didn't know it for a fact."

Blake finally blew out a calming breath and nodded. "Okay. I believe you. I don't want to be turned into some sort of mutant though."

Maro laughed. "No. Nothing so drastic."

Blake did calm down, but he remained silent for the rest of the night thinking about it. He spent his time out on the balconies looking over the city and beyond whenever he could get away with it. He was polite with the people who approached him but he never instigated or encouraged conversation. Maro and Lynti let him be. Though at one point he did see Lynti dragging her husband to a deserted corner and start smacking him over the head. That pulled a laugh out of him.

It was nearing the end of the party when he found out many people would be travelling upon their ship to the _Ornalia_ from here. Not all were Cyruvian either. Maro and Lynti seemed to be very well acquainted with everyone at the party. And the people were pleasant enough but there were a choice few who had sticks shoved way too far up their asses. Blake steered clear of them after the first meeting.

Once back on the interstellar transport, Blake realized he was being stupid about the age thing. Did it really make much of a difference? Aside from the fact he should have found out from Fen instead of his parents, it didn't really matter. He would be spending his life with Fen, and Fen… he had to look at it from Fen's point of view. The spacer had fallen in love with someone who would die way before him. That had to be way painful knowing that, and he'd kept those thoughts to himself while still pursuing him.

"Stupid jock," he muttered and then he just wished Fen were right in front of him so that he could promise he'd find some way to extend his life. And he just wanted a hug from Fen. One of those awesome bear hugs. Right at that moment, he wanted Fen so badly.

* * *

It was time to join the rest of the Family to attend to _Ornalia_. Tyk glowered at the back of Zarth's head from where he sat just behind the man.

"This is a bad idea. I don't want to go to this thing."

"Not that I'm not happy he's coming with us," Zari piped in before Fen could tell the spacer to shut the hell up, "but why did you decide to bring him, Zarth?"

"Things need to be done. We will make one stop before meeting with Mother, Father, and Blake. This is why we're leaving early."

"And do you think you can take off already?" Fen ground out where sat next to his brother in the Navigation chair, tapping his fingers impatiently against his knee. Zarth shot his brother a grin.

"What stop?" Zari asked.

"Tyk needs to be fixed."

Zari frowned, looking over at her friend, who was still glaring at Zarth's head. "Fixed how?"

"We're going to stir up the pot, my dear. Tyk is done with hiding."

"But…"

"I'm Cyruvian," Tyk ground out. "I thought you two would have told her by now."

"We figured you would."

"Your plan is insane. Do you understand the celestial storm that will reign down upon me the moment I step into the _Ornalia_?"

"Sounds like fun." This from Zarth.

"Really insane."

Zari was still trying to comprehend the Cyruvian concept and Tyk was studiously ignoring her intense glare/study of his face.

"You can't be that important," Fen put in.

"I wasn't until I made the colossal mistake I made. One little mistake and my life was ruined. One little mistake and my family's lives were on the line. If I reappear…"

"I've got that covered too," Zarth told him. "Your family won't be harmed."

"How can you be sure?!" he burst out. "How do you know?"

"Well, they'll disappear, won't they? They'll disappear and it'll look like they were already murdered by someone else." Zarth turned to look over his shoulder. "This isn't my first time out, spacer."

"That is one of the reasons why I left. So their lives wouldn't have to change," Tyk ground out.

"It's not permanent."

"You're Cyruvian?" Zari questioned. "You don't look Cyruvian. You don't act like it either."

"Zari, love," he ground out. "Not important right now."

She blinked all that away and grabbed his hand. "Don't worry so, Tyk. When my brothers say they've got it handled, they've got it handled. It's true you might not want to put all your confidence with Fen, sure-"

"Hey!"

"But Zarth never ever lets down. Ever."

"Zari, why did you do this?" he whispered. "Why did you tell them?"

"Because. We have the power to help you and whether you like it or not, you will get it. By the way, you're a complete shit for not telling me. A CYRUVIAN?!" she ended in a shriek.

All three men winced.

* * *

A lone woman sat alone on a bench, dressed in her military ensemble. The outfit pegged her as a lieutenant and she was clearly on leave. She also looked as if she were waiting for someone so no one really paid her too much attention. The woman sat mostly perfectly still, her face shadowed by the cap she wore, but her eyes were a flurry of activity as she watched the comings and goings with pleasure. Watching people departing. Watching people arriving. Her favorite was watching people come together. Greeting each other after having been apart, or saying goodbye. The emotions these people expressed struck a welcome chord within her. It made her feel vulnerable and it was a cherished feeling.

One man she frequently went back to watching. A young man who had taken up the bench far across the hall, directly opposite her. He would sit for a few minutes, but always he would rise after a time and pace back and forth. The eagerness on his face; and then the impatience. After some watching, she came to the conclusion he was waiting for a lover to arrive. From his attire and the look of his breeding, she expected he was from The Three Worlds.

This spaceport was a gigantic hub of activity for this particular sector of space. The Arrival Hall, one of dozens in the space sport, in which she was posted was very busy at this time. Most of the travelers coming in were guests of the _Ornalia_ , or attendants of guests. This hall was specifically used for the higher castes and their entourages. And because it was bustling with people, her view of the young man was constantly being blocked.

With grace, the woman stood and made her way across the hall; easily slipping in between and bypassing people. Slipping by like smoke without ever being held up. Still no one paid her much mind. She stopped in from of a viewing port several feet away from the young man and looked out upon all the vessels docking or just taking off. She kept one eye on the young man who was back to sitting down.

"Fen."

She turned just slightly to see a slightly taller man approach the other. This one looked older but also very similar to the one she was watching. Family, she thought. Brothers, probably. And this one looked familiar to her. She couldn't immediately place his face however. By the young man's reaction to this man's presence, she realized it was not him he was waiting for.

"Fen, you're like a little boy. Patience. They'll be here soon—ah, look. Here is the family transport now."

This Fen shot to his feet and strode around the bench to come stand next to the viewing port directly behind the seat. She looked also, watching a large personal vessel gliding in. Smiling because she recognized this one. Galadors of The Three Worlds. Ah. She turned back to study them and was quite startled to see the elder one staring right at her. His eyes were widened slightly. Clearly he could see her face, make out the details even from beneath the shadow of her cap.

_This one is strong to be able to see through the Shade_ , she thought. "Turn a blind eye," she whispered under her breath and the man blinked several times before turning away, forgetting her completely.

"Remember what I told you, little brother," he went on to the younger man. "He is Blake."

"Don't worry about that," Fen muttered. "It's Blake I've been missing."

Zarth turned to the viewing portal. The short range shuttles were already disembarking from the main ship and heading to the Arrival bay. "He will be surprised. We're not supposed to be here yet."

"Yeah. Can't wait to see his face. When is Kessle set to arrive?"

Zarth turned around, eyes passing over the crowds as he frowned slightly. Where he was once relaxed, the woman saw he was now strung with tension. "They were to be met on the way by the Yenyt. I'm not entirely sure when they will arrive here."

"Zarth, what are you going to do? You can't let him be paired to a Yenyt. They hate the Tefmau."

"This I know. I will do whatever is necessary. The Yenyt certainly have an ulterior motive. I cannot understand how the Tefmau would ever agree to such an alliance. To agree to have the Yenyt patrol their borders."

"Why Kessle though?"

"He is the most expendable to them," Zarth ground out. "He is of the right class. Their clan is high up. But he is not exactly a warrior, and instead would prefer to travel, to learn. He enjoys politics more than fighting. He is too…"

"Delicate."

Zarth laughed and turned to his brother. "I'd like to hear you say that to his face, brother. That is not a word I would ever use to describe him. It is not true. But… in regards to the way his people are, to the way they see him, yes, that might be a good choice. In all of their clan, who else would they choose to pair with a Yenyt? Someone they will not miss. They take him too much for granted. They care nothing for his wishes." He blew out a breath, closed his hands into fists. "They do not see his potential."

"This could turn out well for you, Zarth. In regards to Kessle. If you do this right."

"I don't know what you mean."

Fen shook his head, slightly glaring at his brother in frustration. "Zarth."

"Kessle will have his freedom, Fenwyn. That is all there is to it."

"Stars! You're unbelievably blind and stupid and an ass!"

"I love you too, brother."

The woman smiled as she turned back to look beyond the viewing portal. These two were amusing. Not long after, the moment she had been waiting for arrived. Zarth tapped Fen's shoulder and gestured down to one end of the hall where many well dressed travelers were just entering from one of many terminals.

"Seems they picked up quite a large group on the way," Zarth murmured as he took a seat while his brother remained standing.

"How do you know they are from our vessel?"

"Lord Dum'I leads the pack. Mother, Father, and Blake stopped to attend a party at his home directly before travelling here. Mother said they would be escorting distinguished guests to the _Ornalia_."

"So then where are they?" Fen ground out.

"Just wait," Zarth murmured. "Impatient sap." He was grinning though. Fen's impatience was amusing. He hoped when he and Blake were face to face that his brother remembered they were out in public.

A man came to stand beside the Lieutenant. "Tinkame, you're going to be late if you continue to watch."

"Shh, I'm almost finished."

"I do not understand the appeal."

She turned and smiled at the man. "I've already explained."

"Yes, and I still don't quite understand."

"That's because you're insensitive."

He snorted in disbelief.

"It's been proven true on many occasions."

"These people are strangers."

"Almost always, yes. But these two… I know their family. I've met the parents of these two. They are good strong people. They are controlled by their passions, by their hearts. Now shush, love. Let me finish watching."

"Look, Fen. There he is… looks like a native now, doesn't he?"

"Yeah."

The man turned into the woman after studying the two. "Galadors, hmm?"

"Ah! Good memory! It took me a moment."

The woman smiled as she watched the last three coming from the terminal. A man, younger man, and a woman. The younger man was talking excitedly with the elder, gesturing with his hands, smiling widely. He wasn't really looking around and was more focused on Maro Galador and his wife.

Tinkame's husband gently pulled on her ear. "I've always been quicker than you."

"You will pay for that."

The man's eyes brightened. "I know."

The moment Fen started walking towards them was the moment Blake pulled his eyes away from Maro in order to study his surroundings. It took him a moment but finally his eyes zeroed in on Fen. The look of surprise lasted only a second before that big unguarded smile erupted across his face. And then he was half walking half jogging to Fen. And the moment he reached Fen, he was hoisted off his feet in a bear hug. He laughed against Fen's hair and wrapped his arms around the spacer's neck and held on just as tightly.

"Stars, I missed you," Fen murmured once he'd set Blake down and pressed their foreheads together.

Blake nodded and pressed forward, lightly pressing his lips against Fen's. "Ditto. Let's get married now."

Fen laughed and hugged him again. "My mom would kill us."

Blake snickered. "I believe that now! She would!"

Tryntalia, The Light of Cyruvi and Empress of the Cyruvian Empire sighed happily and turned away from them, clutching onto her husband's outstretched arm. "That was lovely," she whispered to him.

"Are you ready _now_?" Kemt'I inquired with an eye roll.

"Yes. Now I am ready… you insensitive impatient-"

"Brilliant."

"-man." She shook her head and laughed. Once looking over her shoulder as they departed to find the couple still embracing with not a care that the rest of their party was waiting to go.

* * *

A/N: Another one done, woot woot! If you enjoyed, let me know. It only takes a minute to drop a review ;) Have a great day!

 


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